Most parents do not think receiving human papillomavirus vaccine would encourage sexual activity in their children.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether parents think receiving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine encourages sexual activity in their children.


METHODS
Parents of children 9 to 17 years old living in Georgia and South Carolina completed a 53-item questionnaire that evaluated their opinions about the HPV vaccine and their feelings about whether receiving it encourages sexual intercourse in their children. Fisher exact tests and t tests were used to identify differences between groups.


RESULTS
Participants tended to be white, protestant mothers, 30 to 39 years old with private health insurance. Most parents (301/322, 93.5%) did not believe receiving the HPV vaccine would encourage their child to have sex. Parents who believed the vaccine would encourage sex were more likely to have 15- to 17-year-old children (76% vs 37%, p =.0007), were 40 years or older (62% vs 35%, p =.019), have religious objections to vaccines in general (10% vs 0.3%, p =.01) and the HPV vaccine (14% vs 2%, p =.02), and believed the vaccine would not reduce the risk of cervical cancer in their daughters (50% vs 9%, p =.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Most parents do not think the HPV vaccine would actually encourage sexual activity in their children. Therefore, health care providers can be less hesitant in recommending the vaccine to young sexually naive girls. Additional education should help improve overall parental understanding about the HPV vaccine and, consequently, vaccination rates.
Ferris
Daron G
DG
Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912-3500, USA. dferris@mcg.edu
Cromwell
Lee
L
Waller
Jennifer L
JL
Horn
Leslie
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology*; D010290:Parents; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D013022:South Carolina; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines