Influence of parent characteristics and disease outcome framing on HPV vaccine acceptability among rural, Southern women

Objective A new prophylactic vaccine protects against infection with HPV types that cause many cervical cancers and genital warts. This study explored the impact of framing the vaccine's benefits, with respect to the disease outcome being prevented, on women's HPV vaccination intentions for themselves and for an adolescent daughter. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural North Carolina area with a high cervical cancer mortality rate. A questionnaire was administered among female attendees of a low-income public clinic and a private OB/GYN office. Data were analyzed using a generalized estimable model. Results Women reported high intentions to vaccinate against HPV. Women reported higher intentions to vaccinate adolescent daughters than themselves, and this relationship varied by how the HPV vaccine was framed (preventing HPV, cervical cancer, or genital warts). Older women reported lower vaccination intentions than younger women. Conclusions Rural women, especially those who are younger, may be more accepting of the HPV vaccine when it is framed as a cervical cancer vaccine. Messages to mothers about the HPV vaccine for their daughters might be made more effective by framing the vaccine in terms of cancer and sexually transmitted disease prevention.