Acceptance of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine by Adolescent Girls and Their Parents in Turkey

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the opinions of Turkish adolesecent girls and their parentsabout HPV vaccination and the consistency. <br/><b>Methods</b>: This descriptive study covered 301 girls and their parents.Questionnares were developed by the researchers based on findings within the literature and applied for datacollection. <br/><b>Results</b>: The mean age was 19.4 for girls, 44.2 for mothers and 47.9 for fathers. It was found that 43.5percent of girls and 31.9 percent of mothers wish to be vaccinated against HPV. Also, 45.5 percent of mothersand 44.9 percent of fathers wish for their daughters to be vaccinated against HPV. A moderate consistency wasfound between mothers and fathers; a low consistency was found between fathers and girls, and between mothersand girls. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: The study indicates that an appropriate background has been partially provided aboutthe acceptability of the vaccine between parents and their daughters in Turkey. However, the vast majority ofadolescent girls and parents are indecisive or reluctant about HPV vaccination. This study also showed that thedecisions of adolescents about vaccination may be affected by the opinions of the parents.