Abstract
HPV vaccines are efficacious in preventing HPV related cancers. However, the vaccination uptake in Ghana is very low. Studies that utilize theoretical frameworks to identify contributory factors to HPV vaccination uptake in Ghana are understudied. We used multi-theory model (MTM) constructs to predict initiation and completion of HPV vaccination series in Ghanaian adolescents. Adolescents (n = 285) between the ages of 12 and 17 years old were recruited from four selected schools in Ghana to participate in the cross-sectional study. Linear regressions were used to analyze the data. Most participants were female (91.2%) and senior high school students (60.0%). Many of the participants had neither heard about HPV (92.3%) nor HPV vaccinations (95.4%). Significant predictors of adolescents’ likelihood of getting the first dose of HPV vaccination were perceived beliefs and change in a physical environment (p < 0.001), with each variable accounting for 6.1%and 8.8% of the variance respectively. Significant predictors of adolescents’ likelihood of completing HPV vaccination recommended series were perceived beliefs, practice for change, and emotional transformation (p < 0.001), with each variable accounting for 7.8%, 8.1%, and 1.1% of the variance respectively. Findings underscore important opportunities for developing educational interventions for adolescents in Ghana to increase the HPV vaccination uptake.
Highlights
African governments, non-governmental, and philanthropic organizations have concentrated much of their efforts on preventing malaria and HIV/AIDS in the African continent
The majority of the participants had not heard about Human Papillomavirus (HPV) (92.3%) or HPV vaccination (95.4%)
After controlling for the sample characteristics in the final model, the perceived beliefs and change in physical environment were the significant predictors of the adolescents likelihood of getting their first dose of HPV vaccination (p < 0.001), with each variable accounting for 6.1% and 8.8% of the variance respectively
Summary
The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict the likelihood of initiation and completion of HPV vaccination series in adolescents in Ghana using MTM constructs
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