Journal Article

Validation of a parent HPV vaccine misperceptions scale and its association with children's HPV vaccination status

Nodora, Jesse N., Stack-Babich, Margaux, Keleman, Olivia, Felner, Jennifer K., Parada, Humberto, Martinez, Lourdes S., Miller, Emily E., Strong, David, Martinez, Maria Elena, McDaniels-Davidson, Corinne

2025

Overview

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the cause of nearly all cervical and anal cancers and the majority of vaginal, oropharyngeal, vulvar, and penile cancers in the United States (US). A safe and effective vaccine for the most common cancer-causing HPV types has been available in the US since 2006; however, uptake among age-eligible children remains below that of vaccines administered at similar ages. Hesitancy fueled by misperceptions about the HPV vaccine may contribute to this gap. We assessed HPV vaccine misperceptions using a 12-item Likert scale in a population health assessment in a large county in California. We validated the scale using exploratory factor analysis and exploratory graph analysis. We further assessed concurrent validity by examining parent report of youth vaccination through weighted logistic regression. The HPV Vaccine Misperceptions scale had high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.94) and a strong primary dimension. Further, the 12-item scale sum score was associated with increased odds (Odds Ratioper SD = 2.09; 95 % Confidence Interval = 1.26–3.45) of age-eligible children being unvaccinated for HPV in multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models. This Parent HPV Vaccine Misperceptions Scale can be used to identify parent barriers to vaccination for tailored health education to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine in age-eligible children. •The HPV Vaccine Misperceptions Scale is a new, valid measure.•The 12-item scale was validated in a large, diverse sample of community members in southern California.•The scale demonstrated concurrent validity with self-reported vaccination status of age-eligible children.

• Publisher: Elsevier Ltd,Elsevier Limited
• Subject: Adolescent / Adult / Age / Allergy and Immunology / California / Cancer / Child / Children / Children & youth / confidence interval / Confidence intervals / Education / Ethnicity / Factor analysis / False information / Family income / Female / health education / health effects assessments / Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Hispanic Americans / Households / HPV vaccine / Human papillomavirus / Humans / Immunization / Male / Papillomaviridae / Papillomavirus Infections - prevention & control / Papillomavirus Vaccines - administration & dosage / Parents & parenting / Parents - psychology / Patient decision making / Penis / Population / Public health / Regression analysis / Regression models / Scale / Statistical analysis / Surveys and Questionnaires / vaccination / Vaccination - psychology / Vaccination - statistics & numerical data / Vaccination Hesitancy - psychology / Vaccine hesitancy / Vaccine hesitancy scale / Vaccines / Variables / Youth