Knowledge on human papilloma virus and acceptability of human papilloma virus vaccine among mothers seeking maternal-child health services at Mbagathi District Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted viruses worldwide and is associated with cervical cancer. Through research a prophylactic HPV vaccine has been developed and has proven effective in a number of clinical trials. The main objective of this study was to determine the knowledge on human papilloma virus and acceptability of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine among mothers. A cross sectional study design was adopted. Systematic random sampling was used to obtain the required sample size of 322 respondents. This study was done between June and September 2013. Data analysis was done using Stata version 11.0 and NVIVO 9. The findings revealed that 82.2% of mothers had a good knowledge of cervical cancer, associated risk factors and consequences of HPV infection. A total of 218 mothers (62.6% (95% CI: 57.5 – 67.8 reported having heard of the HPV vaccine. Overall, 67.8% of the mothers said they would vaccinate their adolescent children against HPV