Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of the Arabic-Speaking Community in Sydney, Australia, toward the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program: A Qualitative Study

Faeza Netfa; Catherine King; Cristyn Davies; Harunor Rashid; Mohamed Tashani; Robert Booy; S Rachel Skinner

doi:10.3390/vaccines9090940

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of the Arabic-Speaking Community in Sydney, Australia, toward the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program: A Qualitative Study

Vaccines (Basel). 2021 Aug 24;9(9):940. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9090940.

Authors

Faeza Netfa^{1

2}, Catherine King^{1

3}, Cristyn Davies^{1

2}, Harunor Rashid^{1

3}, Mohamed Tashani^{1

4}, Robert Booy^{1

3}, S Rachel Skinner^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, The University of Sydney Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
² Kids Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
³ National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, University of Tripoli, Tripoli 13275, Libya.

Abstract

Background: Little is known about acceptability of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among parents of adolescents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia. This study aimed to explore the knowledge and attitudes of parents from Arabic backgrounds towards HPV vaccination offered to their children in the national school-based vaccination program.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted in Western Sydney, with parents of adolescents from Arabic backgrounds. Recruitment was via informal personal contacts and passive snowballing. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted in Arabic. These were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes.

Results: Commonly identified themes across fifteen interviews included: (1) lack of awareness and knowledge of HPV and its vaccination, (2) awareness and understanding of the government vaccination information sheet, (3) parents' preferences for information provision, (4) the role of parents' religious beliefs in forming attitudes about HPV vaccination, and (5) lost opportunities to educate parents about HPV vaccination during general practitioner (GP) visits.

Conclusion: The findings point to the need to address cultural, language, and communication barriers to improve awareness and acceptability of HPV vaccination in the Arabic community. Educational strategies should be tailored to this community based on their specific information needs and preferences.

Keywords: adolescent; attitudes; cultural beliefs; human papillomavirus; knowledge; parents.