P0269 - Parents attitudes toward the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine : A new concept in the state of Qatar

Purpose
To delineate parental attitude regarding human papilloma virus vaccine (HPV) in Qatar.
Methods
A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was conducted at Sidra Medicine, the only tertiary pediatric center in Qatar at the time of the study.
Results
334 questioners were completed (response rate = 94 %).More than 70% of surveyed parents were between the ages of 20 and 39 years with majority ( 75%) being females, and 55% were college graduates.
More than 60% of the parents were not aware that human papilloma virus can cause cervical and genital cancer. When asked about the level of comfort in giving their children a vaccine that would prevent them from getting genital cancer, 77% of participants answered “very comfortable”.
At this stage, participants were giving a fact sheet that explained in a lay language genital cancer and vaccination against HPV.
Interestingly, less than 4 % of parents stated that their children’s primary care physicians ever mentioned that such a vaccine exist. When asked about the most preferable mode of receiving information regarding HPV vaccine, 54 % preferred the clinician’s office, followed by 34% of whom preferred social media. In terms of preferred age to receive the vaccine, 45% of participants preferred to administer the vaccine to their children before they are mature enough to understand about sexual relations, while 22 % recommended vaccination right before marriage and 15 % preferred to wait till they are grown up and decide for themselves. Furthermore, only 42 % of caregivers agreed that it is important to explain to their children the vaccine can protect against some of the sexually transmitted infections.
Approximately 20 % of participants were not convinced about the HPV vaccine. When inquired about the reasons, 42% doubted the safety of the vaccine, while 13 % stated that the vaccine has been developed for marketing goals, 15 % preferred not to talk to children about a vaccine related to sexual relations and the rest mentioned that cancer is a disease for old people.

Conclusion:
A large proportion of parents residing in Qatar have a positive perception regarding the HPV vaccine . Parent’s attitudes and perceptions are considered indispensable targets for community health intervention. We will share the result of our study with the ministry of public health in Qatar with a goal to incorporate the HPV vaccine in the National immunization schedule