A Qualitative Interview Study on the Attitudes and Perspectives of 9-13 Year-Old Children and Parents Towards HPV Vaccine: An EGPRN Mentorship Project

Hüsna Sarıca Çevik, Elif Özeller, Lieve Peremans

Keywords: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Human Papillomavirus Vaccines; Qualitative Research; Vaccination Coverage; Vaccination Hesitancy

Background:

Despite the proven effectiveness of the HPV vaccine in preventing HPV-related diseases, the vaccine uptake remains low. Family physicians are the primary source for vaccination advice and administration. Current research lacks in-depth insight into the attitudes of parents and children of the primary vaccination age group regarding HPV vaccination in Turkey. This study aims to explore the reasons behind hesitancy, opposition, and fears related to vaccination. The ultimate goal is to support family physicians with better strategies to navigate these concerns in their patient-physician relationships to improve the vaccination rate.

Research questions:

What are the attitudes and perspectives of parents and children of primary vaccination age regarding HPV vaccination?

Method:

This qualitative study will be conducted at family health centres in districts with varying socioeconomic levels, Ankara University’s paediatric outpatient clinics, and a sports club in Ankara, Turkey. One-on-one interviews and focus groups with a purposeful sample of 10 parents and 10 children aged 9-13 will be conducted until data sufficiency. The data will be analysed using thematic analysis.

Results:

This study will provide information to better understand the perspective of Turkish society towards the HPV vaccine and aims to contribute to health policies regarding the HPV vaccination in European countries with similar socio-cultural and economic conditions as Turkey.

Conclusions:

The findings will identify key factors contributing to hesitancy, opposition, or fears related to HPV vaccination among parents and children. Additionally, the results will highlight their information needs and perceived risks and benefits. Ultimately, these findings will inform family physicians and relevant clinicians about effective communication strategies and potential social awareness initiatives to increase HPV vaccination uptake.

Points for discussion:

Do you have any experience and suggestions for conducting a focus group interview with children aged 9-13? Would it be more effective to hold the focus group exclusively for parents?

What methods could be utilised to develop a common framework for data analysis to identify differences between children and parents in Turkey versus similar groups in Europe?

Given that the EU4Health program prioritises disadvantaged groups, such as immigrant communities in Europe, can the findings of this study also be used to create tailored approaches for these populations?

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