HPV vaccination willingness among 3,081 secondary school parents in China’s capital

Assessing knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccine and vaccine willingness among Beijing secondary school parents, and identifying decision-influencing factors. Selected via multi-stage stratified sampling, 3,081 Chaoyang secondary school students' parents participated in a June-August 2024 study. They completed a questionnaire assessing HPV knowledge, vaccine awareness, and vaccination willingness. Although 56.4% of parents showed a high awareness of HPV and its vaccine, only 13.7% had actually vaccinated their children, indicating a low vaccination rate. Moreover, 59.9% of parents indicated a willingness to vaccinate their children against HPV. Factors influencing this willingness included having daughters (OR: 2.873, 95% CI: 2.403-3.436), the school's street location (OR: 1.279, 95% CI: 1.056-1.550), personal HPV vaccination (OR: 2.153, 95% CI: 1.726-2.686), comprehensive knowledge about HPV and its vaccine (OR: 1.956, 95% CI: 1.595-2.398), awareness of vaccine price (OR: 1.500, 95% CI: 1.143-1.968), perceiving the price as reasonable (OR: 1.265, 95% CI: 1.029-1.533), and challenges in scheduling HPV vaccine appointments (OR: 3.909, 95% CI: 2.692-5.675). Notably, there was a negative correlation between parents' education levels and their willingness to vaccinate their children: junior college (OR: 0.690, 95% CI: 0.527-0.902), undergraduate (OR: 0.626, 95% CI: 0.482-0.813), postgraduate and above (OR: 0.686, 95% CI: 0.475-0.989). Therefore, relevant sectors must implement varied health campaigns, focusing on parental health needs, particularly HPV education for men, and advocate for HPV vaccines in immunization programs to boost secondary school students' vaccination rates.