Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Nov-Dec;28(6):541-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2014.05.003. Epub 2014 Jul 10.

HPV vaccine hesitancy: findings from a statewide survey of health care providers

Annie-Laurie McRee, Melissa B Gilkey, Amanda F Dempsey

HPV vaccine hesitancy: findings from a statewide survey of health care providers

Annie-Laurie McRee et al. J Pediatr Health Care. 2014 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Health care provider recommendations are critical for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake. We sought to describe providers' HPV vaccine recommendation practices and explore their perceptions of parental hesitancy.

Method: A statewide sample (n = 575) of Minnesota health care providers (20% pediatricians, 47% family medicine physicians, and 33% nurse practitioners) completed our online survey in April 2013.

Results: Only 76% of health care providers reported routinely recommending HPV vaccine for girls ages 11 to 12 years, and far fewer (46%) did so for boys (p < .001). A majority of providers reported asking questions about parents' concerns (74%), but many lacked time to probe reasons (47%) or believed that they could not change parents' minds (55%). Higher levels of self-efficacy and outcome expectations were associated with routine recommendations (p < .05).

Discussion: Findings suggest that providers' perceptions of hesitancy may discourage them from routinely recommending the HPV vaccine. Improving providers' self-efficacy to address hesitancy may be important for improving vaccination rates.

Keywords: HPV vaccine; health care provider communication; vaccine hesitancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest: ALM and MBG have no conflicts of interest to disclose. AFD serves on an advisory board for Merck, a company that manufactures HPV vaccine, though she does not receive research funding from this company.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of providers who recommend HPV vaccine to adolescents ages 11-12 as part of their routine care more than 75% of the time, by patient sex. Bars=95% confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Allen JD, Othus MK, Shelton RC, Li Y, Norman N, Tom L, del Carmen MG. Parental decision making about the HPV vaccine. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. 2010;19(9):2187–2198. - PubMed
    1. Allison MA, Dunne EF, Markowitz LE, O'Leary ST, Crane LA, Hurley LP, Beaty BL. HPV vaccination of boys in primary care practices. Academic Pediatrics. 2013;13(5):466–474. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Standard Definitions: Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for Surveys. 6th. AAPOR; 2009.
    1. Bandura A. Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1986.
    1. Cabana MD, Rand CS, Powe NR, Wu AW, Wilson MH, Abboud PAC, Rubin HR. Why don't physicians follow clinical practice guidelines? Journal of the American Medical Association. 1999;282(15):1458–1465. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances