PHILADELPHIA – A parent's existing health habits or
behaviors, like cigarette smoking, may influence the likelihood
that they will have their daughters vaccinated against HPV.
According to survey results on correlates of HPV vaccine use,
whether parents would choose to vaccinate their daughters was not
associated with one's background or medical history, but was more
closely associated with certain behavioral factors of the
parents.
Results of this survey are published in the February issue of
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal
of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Whether or not respondents indicated that they would vaccinate
their daughters against this cancer-causing virus was associated
with physical activity, non-use of complementary or alternative
therapies and, more surprisingly, cigarette smoking," said lead
researcher Carolyn Y. Fang, Ph.D., associate professor in the
Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center,
Philadelphia.
"Some prior research suggests that risky health behaviors tend
to co-occur (i.e., smoking, alcohol use) and are associated with
lower uptake of harm prevention strategies, such as vaccinations,"
noted Fang. "This was not the case in the current study. It may be
that parents who are former or current smokers have a heightened
awareness of cancer and its related risks, therefore, they may be
more willing to vaccinate their daughters to prevent cancer."
National data on HPV vaccination rates indicate that only 37
percent of females aged 13 to 17 years have received at least one
shot in the three-shot vaccine series, even though the vaccine has
been FDA-approved since 2006 for use in females aged 9 to 26 years
old.
While prior studies have mainly focused on patient knowledge,
health beliefs and other medical or demographic variables, results
of this survey are among the first to also examine multiple
behavioral correlates of HPV vaccine acceptability, according to
Fang.
Using information from the 2007 Health Information National
Trends Survey conducted by the National Cancer Institute, Fang and
colleagues at Fox Chase Cancer Center and The Cancer Institute of
New Jersey/UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School analyzed
cross-sectional survey data from more than 1,300 U.S. parents or
guardians of female children or adolescents (under the age of
18).
Results showed that about 18 percent of the participants would
not have their daughter receive the HPV vaccine, about 25 percent
were undecided and more than half (about 58 percent) reported they
would let their daughter get the vaccine. Among those who said no
to receipt of the vaccine, the most common reasons stated were:
- they do not know enough about the vaccine (about 48
percent);
- they are worried about the safety of the vaccine (about 20
percent);
- they believe their daughter is not sexually active (about 9
percent); and
- they have not received a recommendation from a doctor for their
daughter to receive the vaccine (about 6 percent).
Additional reasons included the young age of the daughter; the
belief that more research on the HPV vaccine is needed; parental
anti-vaccination belief; or the belief that their daughter simply
doesn't need the vaccine.
Those who were more accepting of the vaccine were current or
former smokers; had engaged in health promoting behaviors such as
physical activity within the past month; or had not used
alternative, complementary or unconventional therapies within the
past year. Furthermore, those who were more accepting of the
vaccine also believed that cancer can be cured if caught early.
Sally W. Vernon, Ph.D., editorial board member of Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, said these findings are
important for multiple reasons. They represent a national
population sample, whereas other studies to date have used local or
regional samples. Therefore, these survey results may apply to a
larger and more diverse population and provide a benchmark against
which studies of regional samples can be compared.
"Saying that parents would or would not vaccinate their
daughters does not necessarily translate into action or lack of
action for vaccination. There may be unanticipated barriers when
parents attempt to get their daughters vaccinated, for instance
cost or access to health care," said Vernon, director of the
Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the
University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health.
Now that the HPV vaccine is commercially and more widely
available, Fang said that additional studies are likely to focus on
vaccine uptake and not just reported HPV vaccine acceptability.
Vernon suggested that research is needed to further evaluate these
behavioral outcomes, and whether eligible females are getting the
vaccine and following through with the full vaccination series.
"Parents' existing health habits and patterns of behavior are
likely to contribute to their decisions regarding the uptake of
cancer prevention strategies for their children," said Fang.
SOURCE