Venturas, C and Umeh, FK (2017) Health professional feedback on HPV vaccination roll-out in a developing country Vaccine. Vaccine, 35 (15). pp. 1886-1891. ISSN 0264-410X

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Abstract

Background: Worldwide, Zambia has the highest cervical cancer incidence rates (58.4/100,000 per year) and mortality rates (36.2/100,000 per year). The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine is considered a vital preventative measure against cervical cancer, particularly in sub-Saharan countries, such as Zambia. Past research suggests health professionals’ experiences with HPV vaccination rollout can have practical implications for effective delivery.
Objective: To explore health professionals’ perspectives on the HPV vaccination programme in Zambia.
Methods: Researcher travelled to Zambia and conducted semi-structured interviews with fifteen health professionals working in private, government, and missionary clinics/hospitals. Observation was conducted for triangulation purposes. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
Findings: Five main themes emerged; medical misconceptions about the HPV vaccination, particularly with regards to infertility; fear of the unknown, including possible side effects and inadequate empirical research; need for prior desensitisation to resolve cultural barriers prior to vaccination rollout; a rural-urban divide in health awareness, particularly in relation to cancer vaccines; and economic concerns associated with access to the HPV vaccination for most of the Zambian population.
Conclusion: Overall, the findings indicate that an essential avenue for facilitating HPV vaccination rollout in Zambia is by implementing a pre-rollout community effort that removes or softens cultural barriers, particularly in rural areas. It is also essential to correct erroneous HPV presumptions health professionals may have around infertility. Affordability remains a seemingly intractable hindrance that hampers HPV vaccination rollout in Zambia.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	06 Biological Sciences, 07 Agricultural And Veterinary Sciences, 11 Medical And Health Sciences
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Natural Sciences & Psychology (closed 31 Aug 19)
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2017 09:52
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2021 11:52
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.02.052
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5707

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