Factors Associated with the Uptake of Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine among Girls Aged 9-14 Years in Buikwe District, Central Uganda

Catherine Ndibazza

Department of Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda.

Banson John Barugahare *

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Uganda.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

Aim: Cervical cancer is one of the leading global public health concerns.  Our study aimed at determining factors associated with the uptake of the HPV vaccine among 451 girls aged 9-14 years.

Study Design and Area: We conducted a cross-sectional study that was carried out in the Buikwe district, central Uganda.

Methods: The study was conducted using mixed methods. Quantitative data were entered using the Epidata software and exported to Stata 14 for cleaning and analysis. Atlasti 6 software was used in thematic qualitative data analysis. 

Results: The level of HPV vaccine uptake was 30%. Girls whose mothers/caretakers accessed health information through the health workers (P = 0.004, AOR = 2.68(1.36-5.26), CI = 95%) were more likely to uptake the HPV vaccine than any other in the study population.  Mothers/caretakers who are civil servants were more likely to receive the HPV vaccine (P = 0.049, AOR=1.78 (1.00-3.18), CI=95%). Girls whose mothers/caretakers had never heard about HPV vaccines and thought getting vaccinated is not important were less likely to uptake the HPV vaccine (P = 0.000, AOD = 0.31 (0.10-0.89), CI=95%) and (P = 0.000, AOD = 0.12 (0.05-0.28), CI=95%) respectively.

Conclusion: The level of HPV vaccine uptake among girls aged 9-14 years remains significantly low at 30%. Vaccine uptake was severely affected by the level of health education - awareness among the mothers/caretakers. There is need for strategies to improve vaccine awareness and uptake among the key stakeholders.

Keywords: Cancer, cervical cancer, human papillomavirus vaccine, vaccine uptake mothers, caretakers


How to Cite

Ndibazza, Catherine, and Banson John Barugahare. 2024. “Factors Associated With the Uptake of Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine Among Girls Aged 9-14 Years in Buikwe District, Central Uganda”. Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research 36 (10):25-34. https://doi.org/10.9734/jammr/2024/v36i105585.