Table 1.

Girls’ and mothers’ perspectives on girls’ informational needs about HPV vaccines

Girls’ Perspectives	N (%)	Illustrative Quotations
Information to be communicated to girls about HPV vaccines
Vaccine efficacy in preventing infection and disease	14 (42)	“It’s good to get ‘em [HPV vaccinations] because it’d be worse to have cancer than just get some shots.”
Vaccine risks and benefits	4 (12)	“And it really doesn’t hurt, but you should get it.”
Recommendation for vaccination	1 (3)	“That you should get ‘em.”
Timing of vaccination, i.e. rationale for target age	1 (3)	“…And it works better, if you get it now. And then, like 11, 12 [years of] age, it works better that way.”
Who should communicate such information to the girl
Healthcare providers (i.e. doctors, nurses)	25 (76)	“Doctors are the ones giving you the vaccine and know more about it.”
Parents	20 (61)	“Well, because their parents, maybe they would want you to get that [HPV vaccine] so you are safe…”
Other girls who have received HPV vaccine	2 (6)	“Maybe like your friend that has gotten it or something that can relate to it.”
Other	3 (9)	“The people who made it [HPV vaccine].”

Mothers’ Perspectives	N (%)	Illustrative Quotations
Information to be communicated to girls about HPV vaccines
Vaccine efficacy in preventing infection and disease	24 (73)	“I think they need to know what I needed to know. That it prevents – or it’s to help prevent cervical cancer.”
Vaccine risks and benefits	7 (21)	“That it can be painful. I think that’s important to tell ‘em”
Education about sexual health	6 (18)	“They need to know a lot about STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] and sex.”
Message that vaccination is a way to take care of oneself	2 (6)	“It’s [HPV vaccine] gonna help keep them safe there, down there for one.”
Message that HPV vaccination is not permission to be sexually active	4 (12)	“I definitely feel they need to know that it … by no means it’s giving them permission to have sex. It’s letting them know that there is something out there to protect them in case they decide that’s what they want to do.”
Importance of vaccination	2 (6)	“I think they need to know that it’s very helpful to get it [HPV vaccine] because it’s [cervical cancer] very serious, that you need it.”
Who should communicate such information to the girl
Doctors	32 (97)	“The doctors oversee their [patients’] general health care and have that relationship with the parent and the child.” “They [doctors] have their best interests in mind.”
Parents	29 (88)	“I think parents because of how close we are with the kids. … I give ‘em my uneducated version, and then they come in and the pediatrician can give ‘em their educated version.”
Multiple sources (“team effort”)	11 (33)	“I always think parents should have open line of communication and talk to their kids. But then I know that parents don’t always. They might not know the information or they don’t feel comfortable. So I think teachers… they can teach sex education at school. But then not all schools teach it. So then I think the doctors have an important role too.… Well hopefully kids are seeing doctors for well checks and, they can do it. So, between the three, hopefully all girls are covered with that information.”
Teachers/school	11 (33)	“I honestly believe you know like the school, teaching. I’m all for sex education.”
Nurses	8 (24)	“I think the kids are more comfortable with the school nurse rather than a teacher because the school nurse has a little bit more education on healthcare than a teacher would.”
Other	3 (9)	“The girls who just had the [HPV] vaccines. Or people who’s had cancer.”

HPV: human papillomavirus; STDs: sexually transmitted diseases