Decision-making about the HPV vaccine among ethnically diverse parents: Implications for health communications

Objective: to describe parents' knowledge,attitudes,and decision-making with regard to obtaining the hpv vaccine for their daughters. methods: white,black,and hispanic parents of daughters who were age eligible to receive the hpv vaccine (9-17 years) were recruited from community settings to participate in focus groups. parents were asked about knowledge and awareness of hpv,decision-making about hpv vaccine,as well as preferred and actual sources of hpv information. results: seven focus groups (n = 64 participants) were conducted. groups were segmented by gender (women = 72%) and race/ethnicity (black = 59%; white = 23%; hispanic = 19%). prevalent themes included: insufficient information to make informed decisions; varied preferences for involvement in decision-making; concerns about vaccine safety; mistrust of medical providers and pharmaceutical companies; and mismatch between actual and preferred sources of information. discussion: improving communication between providers and caregivers and helping parents to access information necessary for informed decision-making,while alleviating concerns about vaccine safety,may help to improve vaccine acceptance. copyright © 2012 jennifer d. allen et al.