Knowledge on HPV vaccine and cervical cancer facilitates vaccine acceptability among school teachers in Kitui County, Kenya.
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Date
2015-08-12Author
Masika, Moses M
Ogembo, Javier G
Chabeda, Sophie V
Wamai, Richard G
Mugo, Nelly
Language
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Background
Vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection have the potential to reduce the
burden of cervical cancer. School-based delivery of HPV vaccines is cost-effective and suc-
cessful uptake depends on school teachers
’
knowledge and acceptability of the vaccine.
The aim of this study is to assess primary school teachers
’
knowledge and acceptability of
HPV vaccine and to explore facilitators and barriers of an ongoing Gavi Alliance-supported
vaccination program in Kitui County, Kenya.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional, mixed methods study in Central Division of Kitui County where
the Ministry of Health is offering the quadrivalent HPV vaccine to grade four girls. Data on
primary school teachers
’
awareness, knowledge and acceptability of HPV vaccine as well
as facilitators and barriers to the project was collected through self-administered question-
naires and two focus group discussions.
Results
339 teachers (60% female) completed the survey (62% response rate) and 13 participated
in 2 focus group discussions. Vaccine awareness among teachers was high (90%), the
level of knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer among teachers was moderate (48%,
SD = 10.9) and females scored higher than males (50% vs. 46%,
p=0
.
002
). Most teachers
(89%) would recommend the vaccine to their daughter or close relatives. Those who would
recommend the vaccine had more knowledge than those who would not (
p=
<
0
.
001
). The main barriers were insufficient information about the vaccine, poor accessibility of schools,
absenteeism of girls on vaccine days, and fear of side effects.
Conclusions
Despite low to moderate levels of knowledge about HPV vaccine among school teachers,
vaccine acceptability is high. Teachers with little knowledge on HPV vaccine are less likely
to accept the vaccine than those who know more; this may affect uptake if not addressed.
Empowering teachers to be vaccine champions in their community may be a feasible way of
disseminating information about HPV vaccine and cervical cancer.
URI
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0135563&representation=PDFhttp://hdl.handle.net/11295/90060
Citation
Masika MM, Ogembo JG, Chabeda SV, Wamai RG, Mugo N (2015) Knowledge on HPV Vaccine and Cervical Cancer Facilitates Vaccine Acceptability among School Teachers in Kitui County, Kenya. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0135563.Publisher
University of Nairobi
Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10378]