Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics
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Hum Vaccin Immunother · Mar 2017
Parents who refuse or delay HPV vaccine: Differences in vaccination behavior, beliefs, and clinical communication preferences.
We sought to estimate the national prevalence of HPV vaccine refusal and delay in a nationally-representative sample of parents of adolescents. We also compared parents who refused versus delayed HPV vaccine in terms of their vaccination beliefs and clinical communication preferences. ⋯ Our findings suggest that HPV vaccine refusal is common among parents of adolescents and may have increased relative to previous estimates. Because the vaccination beliefs and communication preferences of parents who refuse appear to differ from those who delay, targeted communication strategies may be needed to effectively address HPV vaccine hesitancy.