Understanding Barriers to HPV Vaccine at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP)

Understanding barriers to HPV vaccine uptake among adolescents to improve vaccine uptake 

• Background Globally, cervical cancer poses a significant public health problem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020 alone, an estimated 604,000 new cases and about 342,000 deaths occurred . Approximately 90% of these cases and deaths are in low and middle-income countries. In Kenya, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death after breast cancer.
• Increased uptake of the effective human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is the key to controlling cervical cancer' In Australia, vaccine-type HPV infections and pre-cancerous lesions reduced significantly when HPV vaccination coverage was 80% and 76% in females and males, respectively (Patel et al. 2018). In Africa, Rwanda has achieved coverage of up to 95% with the HPV vaccine, and this success has been attributed to the country’s robust health systems and school strategy (Binagwaho et al. 2012). In 2019, Kenya introduced facility-based HPV vaccination for 9-14-year-old girls, with community and school mobilisation by teachers and identified community members. There has been a backslide in the first dose, with the second dose having even lower coverage. This study will apply the World Health Organization (WHO) Measuring Behavioural and Social Drivers (BeSD) of the vaccination framework to understand the barriers and facilitators of Human Papillomavirus vaccine uptake in Kwale and Mombasa counties of Kenya.
• Methods; The study design will be cross-sectional, and quantitative and qualitative data will be collected. We will sample girls aged 10-14 who are eligible to receive the HPV vaccine across the two counties. A mix of interviews, in-depth discussions, and focus group discussions will be conducted with purposively selected participants. The concurrent triangulation method will be applied for cross-validation and corroboration of the findings within the study.
• Significance Understanding the barriers and facilitators to HPV vaccination will help Policymakers use best practices to improve uptake.