Human papillomavirus vaccination and respect for children's developing autonomy: Results from a European Union wide study.
Kyriakos Martakis, Denise Alexander, Tamara Schloemer and 3 others
PMID 31132868WHAT IT FOUND
HPV vaccination rules vary widely across Europe.
Some countries require only the child's consent, others the parents', and some no consent. Higher vaccination rates were often found in countries that respected the child's autonomy rather than overriding their refusal.
Key findings
01Written consent requirements for HPV vaccination differ by country, ranging from sole child consent to parental consent or no consent required.
02When a child requests vaccination but parents refuse, some countries allow the vaccination while others do not.
03Higher HPV vaccination coverage rates were often observed in countries with less paternalistic approaches, such as Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study relies on expert opinion, which may introduce bias and might not fully represent regional variations within countries. Vaccination coverage rate data was only available for 11 of the 28 responding countries, limiting the strength of the correlation analysis. The cross-sectional design captures policies at a specific time (2017) and may not reflect recent changes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that higher vaccination rates in autonomy-respecting countries prove that respecting child autonomy causes better coverage. The correlation analysis was based on data from only 11 countries and did not use inferential statistics due to the small sample size, so other factors likely influence coverage rates.