HPV Vaccine Recommendations and Parental Intent

Adolescents’ receipt of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is primarily a decision of their parents. Health care providers’ recommendation increases parents’ likelihood of initiating the HPV vaccine for their child.¹ Rates of HPV vaccine recommendations and the proportion of up-to-date adolescents have improved over time²; however, in 2017–2018, 7.3 million vaccine-eligible US adolescents were unvaccinated.¹ Notably, despite a provider recommendation, parents of 60.6% of unvaccinated adolescents had no intention to initiate the HPV vaccine series.¹ It is unclear whether the sentiment of HPV vaccine hesitancy is growing (because of the rise of the antivaccination movement), has dissipated (with a growing body of evidence pertaining to postlicensure efficacy and the safety of the HPV vaccine), or has remained unchanged over time. To understand the trajectory of acute HPV vaccine hesitancy, we evaluated trends in the proportion of parents lacking the intent to initiate HPV vaccination for their unvaccinated adolescent despite having received a provider recommendation.

Address correspondence to Kalyani Sonawane, PhD, Center for Healthcare Data, Department of Management, Policy and Community Health, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1200 Pressler St, RAS-E 1013, Houston, TX 77478. E-mail: kalyani.b.sonawane{at}uth.tmc.edu