Specific beliefs about HPV vaccine were the most powerful predictor of one's intention to vaccinate one's 9-to-12-year-old daughter.
The belief that really stood out was that the vaccine would protect the daughter against cervical cancer. "That was not at all surprising to me," Kahn said. "[Other] studies have shown that the most powerful factor driving mothers' decisions is the desire to protect a child from harm."
The next most powerful predictor were beliefs that the vaccinations would not cause a child to engage in riskier sexual behaviors.
"That implies we need some studies to prove or disprove this concern," Kahn said. "It also is going to be important for clinicians to address that head on with parents."
If a clinician recommended the vaccine, the mom was more likely to decide to vaccinate her daughter.
Mothers were also more likely to go for the vaccine if they thought their daughter was at risk for HPV.
All of these factors could be incorporated into messages, including those seen in brochures and posters about HPV and the vaccine, Kahn said. She was also lead author of a paper appearing in the May issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology that found that interventions which address personal beliefs about the HPV vaccine as well as system-wide barriers to vaccination could lead to higher vaccination rates.
"This shows that there's a difficulty in having mothers recognize that their children will become sexually active at a relatively young age," said Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. "It's a process and it's an attitudinal change that has to occur."
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on HPV and cervical cancer.
