Table 2.

HPV vaccine acceptability and parents’ decision-making

Theme	Quotes
Being informed is key
In general, more information regarding HPV and HPV vaccination	• Information is key. That’s a key thing, information. Information is power. Without that, I’m spiritually blind, from a biblical perspective • So that’s a good thing they need to know—give us the information first • Let them know something about what they’re getting themselves involved in. Then they can make a decision. The decision is on them, and like you said, knowledge is power
Need for specific information about HPV and how it is spread	• I didn’t even know what it was • Cancer? HPV. I thought it was like yeast or something like that. It causes cancer is what they’re saying? • The commercials were, to me, so vague, and I wasn’t really clear on understanding like, well what is HPV exactly? Why do we need to do it?
Need for vaccine information	• I think people would be more comfortable if they knew why is it you want to start as my child is a teen, and I know, as a parent, what my children are doing • I definitely don’t want to not give my kids the vaccine because of fear. I want to do it because there’s enough information to say maybe it might not be the best thing • So I’m still a bit on the fence, leaning toward going ahead with it, but more information I guess
Logistical information (e.g., cost, insurance)	• You said that it cost all $300 and something, is there any insurance that pays? • Can I ask you a question? You said that it cost all $300 and something, is there any insurance that pays? • Yeah, basically they’ve gotten all the vaccines, so yeah. It was tied in with the other ones, so that’s why she got it
The new and the uncertain
The “newness” of the HPV vaccine	• But there’s another new vaccine they’re giving children now, and you say, well okay I’m finished with this now, now what is this new one? Men B, mono … I thought they already did that before? • Why do we need to do it? Then I was kind of skeptical, because I’m okay with vaccines but sometimes when things are new I just kind of want to wait first to see how the public responds to it, and if there needs to be a recall, a change, and that kind of thing • So that was my thing when I first heard about it and when their school first said about her getting the vaccinations it was 11 and I opted out of it because I was scared for her to get it. Because like you said, it was new
Conflicting information from media and healthcare providers	• Now we have some different results coming up, and I want to know more about that • That’s all he [my doctor] had to tell me that he didn’t trust it because I asked him about it last year when those commercials was coming on and everything. And he turned around and he said, "… I don’t trust it. I don’t trust it and everything." And he said that he’d rather wait until like he like more information about the stuff like that
Mistrust and vaccine safety
Vaccine mistrust toward government	• I even heard it’s like being … done much more in our black communities, a lot of kids are the guinea pigs for testing all these vaccines. I don’t know how true that is • And then the Tuskegee experiments they had. All of those things make me more cautious. I want to be more informed • …, so I’m like, who’s in those areas? That was the guinea pig scenario, so let me let them go maybe 10 years
Vaccine mistrust toward pharmaceutical companies	• Everybody has a best of interests, and I become suspicious, especially when doctors a pandering vaccines for companies • Is there a government conspiracy going on or something? I mean something’s really wrong • Then, when they really expanded to the boys, I was like, is this all financially related? Is there big money to be made? How many boys and how many girls we have in this country, and it was like $320 per shot? I was just not feeling it a whole lot, and then maybe just a little bit of distrust with the vaccination
Trust in healthcare providers	• I didn’t know too much about it. So I waited maybe like a year later and I did some research and talked to her family doctor and decided that was best for her to get it considering my family history of cancer. So that’s really what changed my mind, you know • Even though I wasn’t fully informed about everything. I been going to my doctor, the same doctor for almost 20 years. So I trust what she says • I go to doctors all the time, my doctor has not ever once brought up HPV vaccination until I caught it in 2009
Vaccine safety concerns	• We’re all very concerned about the side effects… let me rephrase that, the potential side effects, because all of them were potentially different • So all of that was making me wonder, there is this new vaccine in 2006, what are the side effects? • And then, America being the most vaccinated country, and the highest rate of the Autism. So that’s another thing I was looking at
Stigma of sexually transmitted illnesses	• They probably don’t wanna put sexually transmitted, because I know they need to, but a lot of people are like, my child’s not sexual • What is the age?      ○ 11      ○ Really? So, so, they think that kids going to have sex at 11? • I don’t want to be discussing sex with my kids that old