Researchers partnered with IPA to identify factors associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake in Kenya and to assess whether caregivers could reliably report their daughters’ HPV vaccination status in Kenya and Malawi. In Kenya and Malawi, 54.1 percent and 60.9 percent of girls, respectively, received at least one HPV vaccine dose. Girls in Kenya were more likely to be vaccinated when their caregivers had greater knowledge of the HPV vaccine or trusted healthcare providers while vaccine hesitancy and safety concerns were associated with a lower probability of HPV vaccination.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer. There are an estimated 660 thousand reported cases and 350 thousand deaths attributable to cervical cancer each year, and 94 percent of these cases occur in low- and middle-income countries.¹ Highly effective and safe vaccines exist to prevent HPV infection and reduce the risk of cervical cancer. However, uptake of the HPV vaccine in LMICs remains low. In 2022, 26 percent of eligible girls in Kenya had received a dose of the HPV vaccine and only 13 percent of eligible girls in Malawi had received a dose.²

Researchers partnered with IPA Kenya to identify factors associated with HPV vaccination uptake in Kenya. They surveyed 1,347 caregivers of preadolescent girls (10 to 16 years old), measuring indicators including caregiver knowledge of the HPV vaccine, perceptions, attitudes and social norms about the vaccine, access to vaccination services, and trust in vaccine information. In addition, researchers assessed whether caregivers could reliably report their daughters’ HPV vaccination status in Kenya and Malawi.

Among participating households, 54.1 percent of caregivers reported that their daughter had received any vaccine dose while 60.9 percent of caregivers in Malawi reported so. In Kenya, between 75 and 80 percent of caregivers trusted information about the HPV vaccine from the Ministry of Health and from community health workers. Notably, caregivers who trusted this information were twice as likely to have their daughters vaccinated for HPV. 

About 21 percent of caregivers had anticipated or experienced challenges accessing HPV vaccination services for their daughters, most commonly due to difficulty affording the visit and the distance to the service. Caregivers who experienced or anticipated challenges were half as likely to have a vaccinated daughter than caregivers who did not. Additionally, caregivers’ level of HPV vaccine hesitancy and knowledge, as well as their first-hand experience with cervical cancer, were significantly associated with whether their daughter(s) were vaccinated.

Sources

^1.World Health Organization, "Cervical cancer," World Health Organization, November 17, 2023,
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cervical-cancer
 

^2. Bruni, Laia, Anna Saura-Lázaro, Alexandra Montoliu, Maria Brotons, Laia Alemany, Mamadou Saliou Diallo, Oya Zeren Afsar et al. "HPV vaccination introduction worldwide and WHO and UNICEF estimates of national HPV immunization coverage 2010–2019." Preventive medicine 144 (2021): 106399.

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