Beyond words: Parental perceptions on human papilloma virus vaccination recommendations and its impact on uptake

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The goal was to evaluate how provider recommendations regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination impact uptake in a rural setting. The study used a cross-sectional, population-based design with cluster sampling to survey parents/guardians of children ages 9 to 18 in 2019 in Alabama. In addition to demographics/knowledge questions, participants were asked about type of healthcare provider recommendation and impressions they had from this interaction. The primary outcome variable was the result of the healthcare provider recommendation with options including: child got vaccinated day of recommendation, HPV vaccination was scheduled, or HPV vaccination was not scheduled. Bivariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression were performed. Of the 358 respondents, approximately 40% indicated receiving a recommendation from a provider to vaccinate their child. Age of the parent, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and health insurance coverage were similar across groups. Female parents were more likely to report receiving HPV vaccination recommendation than males (44.1% vs. 23.3%; p = 0.009). The type of provider recommendation was not significantly associated with HPV vaccination uptake. The impression from the recommendation of HPV vaccination being “important” was significantly associated with the child being vaccinated that day (OR = 7.31, 95% CI = 2.20–24.3) as well as scheduling HPV vaccination (OR = 3.17, 95% CI 1.01–9.92). Parents who got the impression that “there was no hurry” were less likely to vaccinate their child that day (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.09–0.59). Provider recommedation is well-established as a significant predictor of HPV vaccination, these findings indicate that how the recommendation is perceived may play a more important role in HPV vaccination uptake.