Knowledge and Attitudes of School Girls' Parents towards a Prevention of Cervical Cancer through Human Papillomavirus VaccinationKnowledge and Attitudes of School Girls' Parents towards a Prevention of Cervical Cancer through Human Papillomavirus Vaccinat

Knowledge and Attitudes of School Girls' Parents towards a Prevention of Cervical Cancer through Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Busaba Suppawattanabodee MSc (Biostatistic)* Budsaba Wiriyasirivaj MD, MSc (Clinical epidemiology, LSHTM, UK)** * Clinical Epidemiology Unit, BMA Medical College and Vajira Hospital ** Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, BMA Medical College and Vajira Hospital Objective: To evaluate knowledge and attitudes of school girls' parents towards a prevention of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Study design: Descriptive study. Subjects: A total of 1,997 parents of school girls studying in prathom 4 to mathayom 6 in one public and one private school in Bangkok (1,651 from private school and 346 from public school). Methods: A survey was conducted between January and March 2008. The self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all parents of girls studying in both schools. The questionnaires composed of two sections: demographic characteristics and general knowledge of cervical cancer, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), HPV vaccine, general attitude towards HPV vaccination of the parents. Main outcome measures: Knowledge and attitudes towards HPV vaccine in school girls' parents. Results: The mean age of the girls' parents in private school and public school was 45.3 and 42.1 years respectively. Majority of respondents from private school (64.8%) graduated from the university, while majority of those from public school (83.3%) were undergraduated. About 76.4% of respondents from private school answered that they knew about the causes of cervical cancer, which was higher than those from public school (54.9%). Few respondents from private and public school were acquainted to HPV (25.7% and 10.1%), and that HPV infection could be prevented (20.2% and 8.4%). However; parents' attitudes towards vaccination were rather positive, that more than half of them intended to have their daughters receiving HPV vaccine (59.1% and 76.0%). Conclusion: Parental attitudes towards HPV vaccination were positive. High number of them favored their daughters to have HPV vaccine despite lacking knowledge about the causes of cervical cancer, association between HPV and cervical cancer, and HPV vaccine. Vajira Med J 2009 ; 53 : 187-196