The number of girls receiving the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is at an all-time high, according to a new report published this month by Public Health England; In the six years since the vaccine became routinely available over 2.3 million girls have received it, and in the last three years over 86% of girls offered the vaccine have received it.

Despite these figures, previous research has shown that girls from Black and Asian ethnic minority backgrounds are far less likely to receive the vaccination than their White British counterparts.

To find out why this might be happening, the EMPATHIC study has been set up; EMPATHIC is an interview study which aims to investigate parents’ opinions and experiences of HPV vaccination. The intention is to work out from these interviews what additional information or resources parents need to help them make an informed decision about the vaccination.

What is HPV and why is the vaccination important?

HPV is a common virus that affects the skin and moist areas that line the body (e.g. the mouth, vagina, anus) and is spread by skin to skin contact, including sexual contact. Around 8 out of 10 people will be infected with HPV at some point in their life but in most people the virus goes away on its own and doesn’t cause any symptoms. However, for some people the virus can cause cell changes which can increase the risk of some cancers.

There are over 100 different types of HPV. Around 13 types can cause cancer and two types in particular (type 16 & 18) have been shown to cause most cases of cervical cancer (around 70% of cases). HPV is spread to the cervix through sexual contact and most infections are symptomless, so it is not obvious if someone carries the virus. Girls in the UK are offered vaccination against HPV to protect against these two types that cause cervical cancer.

Girls are offered the HPV vaccination when they are in year 8 at school. It is offered to girls at this age because the vaccine is most effective if it is given before girls become sexually active. If their parents provide consent for them to have the vaccination they will have two injections spaced six months apart. The vaccination could prevent over 70% of cervical cancers. It’s therefore important for all girls to have the opportunity to get the vaccination.

What does the EMPATHIC study involve?

We are planning to conduct individual interviews with the parents of girls (who are in years 9 to 11 at school) from various backgrounds whose daughters have and haven’t had the HPV vaccine.

We are working with schools and community groups in London who are helping us to contact parents that might want to be involved. We are also happy to for parents to get in touch with us if they think they might be right for the study.

The interviews will last around 30 to 60 minutes. Parents will be asked to discuss their thoughts about the HPV vaccination and past experience of vaccination.

What will happen after the interviews?

After we’ve done all of the interviews (we’re aiming for 30 to 60) we will analyse the information and interpret the findings, which will hopefully result in some suggestions about what information or resources are needed to help parents make an informed decision about their daughter having the HPV vaccination.

The next step will be to design some type of intervention based on what we find. This could be an information leaflet, text message reminders, or meetings held at the school, we don’t know yet; our decision will be based on our findings. Whatever intervention we develop will be tried out and we will evaluate how useful it is, to see whether it is something that could be used on a wider scale to help more parents make decisions about the vaccination.

Get in touch!

We’d like to hear your thoughts on the study. If you have any comments or are just interested in learning more, please contact Dr Alice Forster on 0203 108 3293 or at alice.forster@ucl.ac.uk.

Article Reference: Public Health England (2015) Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Coverage in England 2008/09 to 2013/14 (Report no. 2014797). London: Public Health England.