title: Communication and US-Somali Immigrant Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Decision-Making.
abstract: The current study uses a multiple goal theoretical perspective to explore how Somali immigrant families living in Ohio, USA, make decisions regarding whether to vaccinate their children against human papillomavirus (HPV)-a leading cause of cervical cancer. A focus was placed on the communication goals of parents in HPV vaccine discussions with their child and health care provider. Semi-structured interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Key themes are the implications of the vaccine for early sexual activity, confusion between HPV and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the perception that the HPV vaccine is unnecessary, uncertainty about the vaccine's efficacy and side effects, avoidance of parent-child communication about the vaccine, and a preference for framing the vaccine as a health promotion behavior. Framing the threat of HPV in the context of initiation of sexual activity, uncertainty regarding vaccine efficacy, and anticipated regret account for the inconsistency in HPV vaccine uptake among Somali parents. Clinicians should consider talking about HPV as a distal versus an immediate threat and HPV vaccine uptake as a health-promotion behavior rather than a sexually transmitted infection prevention behavior.
authors.affiliation: School of Communication, The Ohio State University, 3041 Derby Hall, 154 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. dailey.174@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Phokeng M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dailey
authors.affiliation: STEM Translational Communication Research Program, Department of Advertising, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Janice L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Krieger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D003657:Decision Making; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009820:Ohio; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012998:Somalia / Q000208:ethnology; D035501:Uncertainty; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines
keywords: Communication; Culture; Decision-making; HPV vaccine; Language; Somali immigrant