Effects of a Presidential Candidate's Comments on HPV Vaccine

BACKGROUND: During and after the 2011 Republican presidential debate, a candidate questioned the safety of HPV vaccine. We sought to determine what effect these comments had on parents. METHODS: A national sample of 327 parents with adolescent sons ages 11–17 completed online surveys in fall 2010 (baseline, about a year before the debate) and 2011 (follow-up, about a month after the debate). We used regression models to examine the association of parents’ awareness of the candidate’s comments with HPV vaccine initiation among their sons, their willingness to get sons free HPV vaccine, and their beliefs about potential harms of HPV vaccine. RESULTS: Overall, 17% of parents reported hearing about the Republican presidential candidate’s comments about HPV vaccine. Parents who were aware of the comments had a larger increase between baseline and follow-up in the belief that HPV vaccine might cause short-term health problems (mean change=0.47) compared to parents who were not aware (mean change=0.07, p<0.001). Awareness was not associated with HPV vaccine initiation among parents’ adolescent sons, changes in parents’ willingness to get their sons free HPV vaccine, or other outcomes (all p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although the candidate’s comments may have increased some parents’ beliefs about the short-term harms of HPV vaccine, the comments had no impact on other beliefs, willingness to vaccinate, or behavior. Having accurate information about HPV vaccine that is readily available to the public during such controversies may diminish their impact