Attitudes to HPV vaccination among mothers in the British Jewish community: reasons for accepting or declining the vaccine

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore attitudes to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and reasons for accepting or declining the vaccine in the British Jewish community.

Methods: A qualitative approach was used to explore maternal attitudes towards HPV vaccination. Participants were mothers of girls who had been offered HPV vaccination and were purposively sampled through Jewish secondary schools. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with vaccine-accepting (n=10) and vaccine-declining (n=10) mothers. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a framework approach.

Results: HPV and cervical cancer knowledge varied, with poor knowledge attributed to lack of contact with the disease. Although mothers thought HPV vaccination was a good idea in general, many did not perceive it as necessary for their daughter, citing Jewish religious laws governing family purity and abstinence until marriage as reasons for daughter's low susceptibility. These beliefs combined with concerns about the novelty of the vaccination were the main reasons given for declining the vaccine. Mothers who accepted the vaccine generally did so to protect their daughters health and because they felt unable to predict their daughters future behaviour and HPV susceptibility. Many mothers expressed a wish to wait until their daughter was older and the vaccine was more established before consenting. Among some mothers there was disappointment in the information they had received and a feeling that the concerns and questions of the Jewish community had not been addressed.

Conclusion: Attitudes to HPV vaccine in religious communities may lead to reduced vaccine coverage. The development of community-specific information about the importance of the vaccine may help address concerns.