Situation
Human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination is a sensitive issue. There are many barriers to vaccination and the uptake in Asia is low. A survey in Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand of 480 physicians and 1617 randomly selected urban mothers found that the likelihood of physicians raising the subject and/or recommending vaccination was linked to their knowledge of HPV and their attitude or sensitivity to the subject. Mothers’ rejection of HPV vaccination was linked to poor knowledge and low perceptions of relevance of the vaccine.1
Because most Asian mothers seek doctors’ advice and prefer them to take the initiative, physicians should be more proactive in discussing and recommending HPV vaccination.
Key initiative
A 1.5-day annual meeting that included workshops and materials on communication was organised, with the goal of enabling physicians to effectively communicate with patients on this issue. Topics covered included how to sensitively respond to questions/misconceptions about vaccination and opportunistically raising the topic of HPV vaccination with girls and/or their mothers.
Reference