Health Care Decisions for Female Adolescents: The Role of Mothers and Daughters in Decision Making

Study Summary

Preventing cervical cancer is a public health concern. Since 2006 a quadrivalent vaccine for young women nine to twenty six years of age has been available to protect against the human papillomavirus (HPV) and to prevent some types of cervical cancer (Gardasil). The vaccine is an important health promotion tool to address the widespread prevalence of HPV and cervical cancer, but not all eligible young women receive the vaccine. The vaccine is most effective when administered to young women before their sexual debut. When the vaccine is given to young women less than 18 years of age, parental permission is required. This permission is usually provided by the young woman's mother. Understanding predictors of a mother's decision for her minor daughter to receive the HPV vaccine will inform interventions that seek to increase the number of young women who receive the vaccine. The study will focus on mothers and their adolescent daughters between 13-17 years of age. We hypothesize that the Expanded Theory of Planned Behavior will explain a mother's decision to choose the HPV vaccine for her daughter. Research Questions include: 1)What TPB variables predict a mother's decision to choose HPV vaccine for her daughter? 2)What variables predict the strength of a daughter's influence on the mother's decision to choose HPV vaccine for her daughter? 3) What are the relationships between the mothers' and daughters' scores on the variables related to the decision to choose HPV vaccine? 4) How do the mothers and daughters who chose to receive the HPV vaccine differ descriptively from those mothers and daughters who do not choose to receive the HPV vaccine?