The number and gender of children synergistically impact on a mother’s practice of human papillomavirus testing and attitudes towards vaccination in Shenzhen, China

Publication date: April 2020Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Volume 65Author(s): Wei Lin, Lin Zhou, Haiyan Hu, Bin Chen, Shixin Yuan, Bo Wu, Zhihua Liu, Yueyun WangAbstractIt has been reported that the number of children a mother has may impact on her concept of health and behavior, and there is a need to understand the role of children in the acceptability of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and vaccination among Chinese mothers. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and June 2015 in Shenzhen, China, in which representative females were recruited from healthcare institutions through the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network. A total of 9058 females were included. Women with one child had a greater awareness of HPV (49.9 % versus 34.0 %, p < 0.001) and its vaccine (26.0 % versus 15.0 %, p <0.001), and were more likely to receive HPV testing (38.1 % versus 25.8 %, p <0.001) and vaccination (65.7 % versus 60.6 %, p <0.001) than those with two or more children. Mothers having one child who was a daughter were more likely to receive HPV testing (OR 1.53, 95 %CI 1.25–1.89) and HPV vaccination (OR 1.63, 95 %CI 1.38–1.93) than those having two or more children but without a daughter (p for interaction 0.014 and <0.001, respectively). Our findings provide a novel insight into cervical cancer prevention: a smaller number of children helps to improve a mother’s awareness of HPV and its vaccine, to promote their practice for HPV testing, and to prom...
Source: Cancer Epidemiology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research