Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Intention Toward Vaccinate their Daughters Against Human Papilloma Virus in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Parents play an important role in encouraging their daughters to get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, as it is an effective way to prevent cervical cancer and other types of cancer associated with HPV. To obtain the optimal vaccine in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is important to evaluate the parents’ level of knowledge and aṄtude, in addition to their intention to vaccinate their daughters. aim: To assess parents’ knowledge, aṄtude, and intention toward vaccinating their daughters against HPV in King Saudi Arabia.

Method: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional design was used to recruit a convenience sample of 259 parents whose daughters are between 9 and 12 years old in elementary government schools in Jeddah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the period from February 2024 to April 2024. Data were collected using two tools: The first tool was a self-administered questionnaire to identify the knowledge among parents regarding HPV. The second tool was a 5-point Likert scale to assess the parents’ aṄtudes and intentions toward vaccinating their daughters against the human papillomavirus.

Result: The result of the study revealed that 67.6% of the studied parents had a poor level of knowledge, and 38.6% of them had a positive aṄtude regarding the HPV vaccine. It was added that the most associated factors that affected the studied parents 'intentions regarding vaccinating their daughters with the HPV vaccine were their level of knowledge and aṄtude towards their HPV infection and vaccine.

Conclusion: Still, there is a lack of knowledge and aṄtude among parents regarding the role of the HPV vaccine in preventing cervical cancer, which subsequently affects their intention to vaccinate their daughters.