Healthcare providers have an important role for the HPV vaccination programme to be successful. In Sweden one in five girls is not vaccinated against HPV. A population based study among Swedish school nurses who vaccinated against HPV at the early start of the national vaccination programme in 2013 [1], showed that most nurses were in favour of the vaccination programme. However, the majority had experienced difficulties. Most nurses had been contacted directly by parents who were concerned regarding the vaccine safety and effectiveness. The aim of this study was to investigate school nurses’ attitudes towards and experiences of HPV vaccination four years after its implementation. It was hypothesised that school nurses had more favourable attitudes towards the vaccination programme, perceived less barriers with the vaccinations and had higher level of perceived knowledge about HPV vaccine compared to our previous study in 2013.
School nurses (n=736) from all counties in Sweden completed a questionnaire in spring in 2016.
Overall, the school nurses had more favourable attitudes towards the HPV vaccination programme (p=0.015) and reported less barriers (p<0.001) compared to the study in 2013. More than half of the nurses (n=415, 56%) strongly agreed that boys should also be offered the vaccine (p<0.001). There were no differences in school nurses’ perceived knowledge about HPV in order to inform and to answer questions about the vaccine to the girls or to the parents. More than half of the nurses (n=409, 56%) reported that they needed more education about HPV. Almost all nurses (n=659, 90%) had been contacted by parents with questions about the vaccine, and most questions were related to vaccine safety.
School nurses have a more favourable attitude towards the vaccination programme against HPV compared to three years earlier, although almost all nurses had been contacted by parents with diverse questions and concerns. Thus, it is essential to provide ongoing education and training for school nurses who are key healthcare professionals for providing information about HPV to parents and pupils.
1. Grandahl M, Tyden T, Rosenblad A, Oscarsson M, Neveus T, Stenhammar C. School nurses' attitudes and experiences regarding the human papillomavirus vaccination programme in Sweden: a population-based survey. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:540. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-540.