Mothers’ human papilloma virus knowledge and willingness to vaccinate their adolescent daughters in Lagos, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in sexually active adolescents and young women and has been implicated as a cause of the majority of cases of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer in women in Nigeria. HPV is preventable with the use of HPV vaccines. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess mothers’ HPV knowledge and their willingness to vaccinate their adolescent daughters in Lagos, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a community-based, descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in July, 2012 in Shomolu Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling method was employed to select the 290 respondents who participated in the study. Structured, pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Data was analyzed with Epi Info™ version 7. RESULTS: The study revealed low awareness of HPV (27.9%) and HPV vaccines (19.7%) among the mothers that participated. There was a high awareness for cervical cancer but little knowledge of its link to HPV. Awareness and utilization of HPV vaccines increased with increasing educational level (P < 0.05). There was a high willingness and intention among the mothers to vaccinate their girls (88.9%) and to recommend the vaccine to others (91.0%). Accessibility and affordability of the HPV vaccines were found to be possible barriers to future utilization of the vaccines. CONCLUSION: Despite low knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccines, mothers were willing to vaccinate their daughters. We recommend improving mothers’ knowledge by education and the possible inclusion of the vaccine in the national immunization schedule to eliminate the financial barrier.