JOURNAL OF LIAONING TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
(NATURAL SCIENCE EDITION)
LIAONING GONGCHENG JISHU DAXUE XUEBAO (ZIRAN KEXUE BAN)
辽宁工程技术大学学报（自然科学版）
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS VACCINATION AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE AMONG MOTHERS OF FEMALE CHILDREN ATTENDING CARE IN TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN EKITI STATE
WILLIAMS-IMADE, Temidayo Eunice, FADARE Risikat Idowu, ADEBIYI Falilat Omowumi, EKE Justina H. (M.Sc., RN)
Abstract
Vaccination is considered to be a viable method in preventing and reducing the severity of a disease. This is not an exception in cervical cancer. This study determined the awareness of HPV vaccination and its acceptance rate. To achieve these objectives, a descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed. The population for the study comprised mothers of female children attending pediatric units and those at antenatal clinics in two selected tertiary hospitals in Ekiti State. The total number of women registered at these clinics over the last three months was 1,285. The required sample size was calculated to be 336. Convenience sampling was used to select participants, who were approached at the clinics and gave their consents. The questionnaire, adapted from McRee et al. (2012) and Gilkey et al. (2013), was divided into three sections covering demographic data, awareness and acceptability. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed the largest group of respondents was aged 31-40 years (38.1%), awareness of HPV vaccination was low among 39.9% of respondents, moderate among 35.9%, and high among 24.1%. A significant portion of mothers had either low or moderate awareness of HPV vaccination. There was also a significant gap in acceptance of HPV vaccination, with 79.9% of mothers exhibiting low acceptance levels. However, there was no significant association between socio-demographic characteristics and acceptance of HPV vaccination among mothers of female children (chi-square value obtained for age is (x2 = 11.578, p = .171 > 0.05); religion (x2 = 3.482, p = .481 > 0.05); and highest educational qualification (x2 = 8.497, p = .386 > 0.05). It was recommended among others that the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with educational institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), should develop and disseminate educational materials that provide clear and accurate information about HPV, its risks, and the benefits of vaccination.
Keywords: Vaccination, Acceptance, Awareness, Mothers, Female Children