title: Parents' knowledge, risk perception and willingness to allow young males to receive human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in Uganda.
abstract: The Ministry of Health in Uganda in collaboration with the Program for Appropriate Technology for Health (PATH) supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2008-2009 vaccinated approximately 10,000 girls with the bivalent humanpapilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. We assessed parent's knowledge, risk perception and willingness to allow son(s) to receive HPV vaccines in future through a cross-sectional survey of secondary school boys aged 10-23 years in 4 districts. 377 questionnaires were distributed per district and 870 were used in analysis. Parents that had ever heard about cervical cancer and HPV vaccines; those who would allow daughter(s) to be given the vaccine and those who thought that HPV infection was associated with genital warts were more willing to allow son(s) to receive the HPV vaccine. Unwilling parents considered HPV vaccination of boys unimportant (p = 0.003), believed that only females should receive the vaccine (p = 0.006), thought their son(s) couldn't contract HPV (p = 0.010), didn't know about HPV sexual transmissibility (p = 0.002), knew that males could not acquire HPV (p = 0.000) and never believed that the HPV vaccines could protect against HPV (p = 0.000). Acceptance of HPV vaccination of daughters and likelihood of recommending HPV vaccines to son(s) of friends and relatives predicted parental willingness to allow sons to receive HPV vaccines. Probable HPV vaccination of boys is a viable complement to that of girls. Successfulness of HPV vaccination relies on parental acceptability and sustained sensitization about usefulness of HPV vaccines even for boys is vital.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Wilson Winstons
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Muhwezi
authors.affiliation: Child Health and Development Center, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Cecily
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Banura
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Andrew Kampikaho
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Turiho
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mirembe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012306:Risk; D014454:Uganda; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines