Abstract
BackgroundEvery year in Europe 60,000 women develop cervical cancer and 30,000 die from the disease. HPV vaccines are currently believed to constitute an important element of cervical cancer control strategy. Currently in Greece, the HPV vaccine is given on demand after prescription by a healthcare professional. Health care professionals’ role is key as they are in a position to discuss HPV vaccination with parents, adolescents and young women. This study is aiming to explore health care professionals’ perceptions of the HPV vaccine, state policy recommendations and their own role with regards to communication of relevant health information.MethodsThis was an in-depth, qualitative study, employing a stratified, purposeful sampling. Fifteen face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with health care professionals from a variety of disciplines: pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, infectious diseases, pharmacy, dermatology, general practice. Thematic qualitative analysis was used to analyze participants’ accounts.ResultsFive major themes were identified: health care professionals’ perceptions towards the HPV vaccine (recognition of importance, concerns about safety, effectiveness and impact of long-term use), animosity between medical specialties (territorial disputes among professional bodies, role advocacy, role limitations), health care professionals’ perceptions of the public’s attitudes (effects of cultural beliefs, health professionals’ attitudes, media and family), the role of the state (health policy issues, lack of guidance, unmet expectations) and their own role (provision of health information, sex education).ConclusionsHealth professionals’ concerns, lack of role definition and uniform information provision have led to territorial disputes among professional bodies and distrust among different medical specialties. Positive and negative judgements deriving from a multitude of sources have resulted in the confusion of the general public, as manifested by low vaccination rates. Due to the lack of clear regulation of vaccination prescription, administration and mode of delivery, factors such as lack of knowledge, cultural beliefs and personal attitudes have shaped the vaccination landscape. These factors have neither been explored nor addressed prior to the initiation of this public health effort and as such there is an evident less than efficient use of resources.
Highlights
Every year in Europe 60,000 women develop cervical cancer and 30,000 die from the disease
Some of the most prominent themes that emerged from participants’ accounts were the following: Health professionals’ perceptions of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine The majority of participants considered the HPV vaccine ‘an amazing innovation’ (PED, 65), described it as ‘...one of the most important vaccines of the last ten, fifteen years... (ID, 53) and prescribed it to their patients ‘I think it is one of the most effective vaccines which have brought change in the area of infections....change in the sense that a very common cancer can be prevented... very few vaccines are related to cancer prevention
Some participants had specific concerns pertaining to the HPV vaccine and the long-term effects of its wider use: ‘Yes, it is a new vaccine.... studies that have been conducted are retrospective, not prospective...so who knows what will happen after twenty years...the technology of production... with a modified protein..I don’t know what kind of effects it might have in auto-immune type illnesses ...the virus has too many types...the vaccine only two, the other four...I wonder with natural selection fifteen, twenty years after mass vaccination, if other types will prevail as it has happened with other vaccines’ (PED, 55)
Summary
Every year in Europe 60,000 women develop cervical cancer and 30,000 die from the disease. HPV vaccines are currently believed to constitute an important element of cervical cancer control strategy. Health care professionals’ role is key as they are in a position to discuss HPV vaccination with parents, adolescents and young women. This study is aiming to explore health care professionals’ perceptions of the HPV vaccine, state policy recommendations and their own role with regards to communication of relevant health information. HPV vaccines are currently believed to constitute an important element of cervical cancer control strategy and a response to a critical public health need [2]. The World Health Organization stresses that ‘ensuring universal access to HPV vaccination, screening and treatment services will be key to reducing the burden of cervical cancer worldwide’ [2]
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