Assessing Factors Influencing HPV Vaccine Uptake and Hesitancy in Northern Nigeria

A Case Study of Jigawa State

Abstract

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a major health issue highly prevalent among participants with most of the victims being women since it is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Although HPV vaccination is recommended by the World Health Organization, there are still very low uptake rates of HPV vaccination in low or medium-income countries and northern Nigeria in particular. The paper evaluates the aspects highlighted in HPV vaccine uptake and hesitancy in this area which are sociocultural barriers, misconceptions and ignorance. A cross sectional survey, which used multistage sampling, was carried out in Jigawa. The results show that the respondents mostly were young mothers 18-24 years old and the higher percentage of them had no higher education only primary education which shows high fertility rate and inequality level in education. Even more, 47.6 and 37.8 percent of participants disagreed with the effectiveness of the vaccine in the prevention of cervical cancer and its safety, respectively. But in 34.8 percent of the cases, respondents said they are informed about the quality of the vaccine, and 41.4 percent of them supported its promotion in their communities. These rather contradictory perceptions point out to the substantial existence of barriers to tolerance and the necessity to implement complete educational measures to resolve misunderstandings and safety issues. Findings of the study show that awareness, availability, and cultural beliefs play a major role in leading to vaccine uptake, and efforts should be made to make HPV vaccination rates go up by making them sensitive to the context. This study can be used in the studies on the intricacies of the HPV vaccine hesitancy issue and the ideas that can be helpful in achieving the greater popularity of vaccines in Northern Nigeria in terms of public health programs.