Acceptability of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine by the Population of Two Health Districts in Yaounde-Cameroon

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections with high oncogenic risk are responsible for 7.7% of cancers (mainly cervical cancer) in developing countries. Vaccination is considered to be one of the greatest public health successes, but despite its proven effectiveness, vaccination does not longer enjoy popular support, which leads to a coverage in terms of HPV vaccine almost non-existent. A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in the health districts of Nkolndongo and Djoungolo, with the aim of analyzing the acceptability of Human Papillomavirus vaccine in these health districts. From a structured questionnaire administered to 330 parents and 32 Community health Workers (CHWs), we found an insufficient 33.6% moderate level of HPV vaccine acceptability, a statistical significant association between parents’ marital status and HPV vaccine acceptability (OR = 0.369; P value = 0.027; 95%; CI = [0.153, 0.890]), a statistically significant association between knowing someone with cervical cancer and accepting her child to get vaccinated against HPV (OR =0.409; P-value = 0.006; 95%; CI= [0.217; 0.769]), a statistically significant association between accepting HPV vaccine and agreeing to have her child vaccinated against HPV at 51.6%, and a statistically significant association between knowing that HPV vaccine was available in health facilities and its acceptability (OR=0.210; P-value = 0.021; 95%; CI = [0.056; 0.793]). To expand HPV vaccination coverage, various activities should be carried out among the population to improve their knowledge about cervical cancer and the availability of HPV vaccine. The focus should be on unmarried parents and parents engaged in a free union relationship. Health workers should use true life stories about cervical cancer as a means of raising awareness and the list of health facilities administrating HPV vaccine should be made known to the population.