Mothers of teenage and college-age girls may feel like their
daughters never listen to them anymore, but new research suggests a
mother’s seal of approval could be the one push her daughter
needs to receive the human
papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
A new study found college-aged women were more likely to say they
had received the HPV vaccine if they had talked to their mother
about it.
“Mothers talking to their daughters were an important factor
in whether young women were vaccinated,” said Janice Krieger,
lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication
at Ohio
State University.
The exploratory research involved 182 mother-daughter pairs.
All of the daughters were college students, with an average age of
20.
Overall, 137 of the mother-daughter pairs had talked about the HPV vaccine, and 45 pairs reporting not discussing the vaccine.
Communication key
Results showed the key for daughters getting vaccinated was
having mothers who discussed the HPV vaccine with them and who
reported believing the vaccine was safe and effective in preventing
HPV-related diseases.
Krieger said the finding is encouraging because it shows
communication between mothers and daughters can be very helpful,
even if it may be difficult sometimes.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection and will
infect about half of sexually active people in the United States
during their lifetimes. The vaccine is designed to prevent the
spread of HPV, which can cause cancer.
Reticence found
Despite the severity of HPV, many mothers and daughters may
still feel uncomfortable talking about anything related to sex.
Still, these findings suggest the importance of putting those
uncomfortable feelings aside.
The study authors found fears about susceptibility to HPV and about
the severity of HPV-caused illness -- on the parts of mothers or
daughters -- were not related to whether they talked about the
issue.
“Fear does not seem to be the motivator,” Krieger said.
“It really depends on the mothers believing that the HPV
vaccine is safe and effective and that they have the ability to
discuss this topic with their daughters.”
Cost factor
The findings don’t show what was discussed about the HPV
vaccine, but Krieger suspects the cost of the vaccine may be one
topic.
A three-shot series of vaccinations has been reported to cost
anywhere from $360 to $600 -- a large sum of money for many women
in their late teens and early 20’s.
“Most women in early adulthood don’t have a lot of
extra money, and even if they do, a preventive vaccine like the HPV
vaccine may not be high on their list of things to
buy.”
That may be one reason that few young women are vaccinated, she
said. It could also be one of the reasons why many young women
don’t finish.
One recent study found that just one-third of teens and young women
who start the three-dose vaccine series actually finish, and almost
three-quarters don't start it at all.
“Public health officials have concentrated on convincing
women over 18 to get the vaccinations themselves, but that may not
be the best way to reach them,” Krieger said.
The study findings suggest that encouraging mothers and daughters
to talk about the HPV vaccine, even if it may seem uncomfortable,
is an important step in cancer prevention.
“Mothers may be afraid to bring up the topic, but it
doesn’t have to be a conversation focused on sex.
Mothers can talk about how the HPV vaccine is safe and effective
and that it prevents cancer,” Krieger said. “If
parents have the ability to pay for the vaccine, that could really
help, as well.”
The study appears in the January 2011 issue of the journal Human Communication Research.
