Effect of Nurse-facilitated Educational Intervention on Parents’ Knowledge and Perception of Safety of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> HPV vaccine hesitancy remains a public health concern due to poor knowledge and safety perceptions among parents. This study assessed the impact of a Nurse-Facilitated Educational Intervention (NFEI) on parental knowledge and perception in Ogun State, Nigeria, using a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design. A total of 276 parents were selected through multistage sampling. Data were collected using standardized instruments with reliability (α = 0.78–0.89). The intervention was delivered twice weekly for four weeks. Hypotheses were tested using repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with level of significance of 5%. Before the intervention, poor knowledge of HPV vaccines was high (96.18% in the intervention group, 95.35% in the control group). Post-intervention, good knowledge rose to 83.97% in the intervention group, but remained 0% in the control. At eight weeks, good knowledge remained high (83.21% in the intervention group, 0% in the control). Both groups initially had poor perceptions of HPV vaccine safety (Mean ± SD: 16.18 ± 1.81 for the intervention, 15.98 ± 2.27 for the control). After the intervention, the intervention group’s perception improved (36.89 ± 2.93), maintaining at eight weeks (36.85 ± 2.73), while the control group remained unchanged (15.98 ± 2.28). Significant differences were found between the groups post-intervention in both knowledge (t = 40.515, p &lt; 0.05) and perception (t = 64.591, p &lt; 0.05), indicating a large intervention effect. The study concludes that parent’s knowledge, and perception of safety of HPV Vaccines was improved by NFIE. It is recommended that government continue the campaign on HPV vaccination utilizing the Nurse Facilitated Educational intervention.