Vaccination against human papillomavirus in Brazilian schoolchildren: National Survey of School Health, 2019.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the prevalence of schoolchildren vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) and the reasons related to non-vaccination. METHOD: cross-sectional study, with data from the 2019 National Survey of School Health. The sample consisted of 160,721 students aged 13 to 17 years. The prevalence and confidence intervals (95%CI) of vaccinated adolescents were estimated according to location, sex, and administrative dependence of the school. The differences between the strata were evaluated with the Chi-square test. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95%CI were estimated with the Poisson regression model. RESULTS: most of the students were vaccinated (62.9%), and the prevalence of girls (76.1%) was higher than that of boys (49.1%). The most prevalent reason for not vaccinating was "did not know they had to take" (46.8%), with the highest aPR in public schoolchildren in Brazil (1.6; 95%CI 1.5;1.7), from the Northeast region (1.2; 95%CI 1.1;1.2), and in students from private schools in the Northeast regions (1.1; 95%CI 1.1;1.2) and North (1.3; 95%CI 1.2;1.4). CONCLUSION: one out of every two Brazilian schoolchildren was vaccinated against HPV. Misinformation was a recurring reason for non-vaccination. The North and Northeast regions had the highest prevalence of non-vaccinated people, observed mainly in adolescents from public schools. HIGHLIGHTS: (1) 63% of Brazilian schoolchildren reported having been vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV).(2) In Brazil, in 2019, the prevalence of immunized girls was higher than that of boys.(3) Misinformation and fear are reasons for hesitating vaccination.(4) Social and health inequalities may reflect upon HPV vaccination.(5) Achieving the goal of 80% in HPV vaccination coverage is a challenge in Brazil.

Vaccination against human papillomavirus in Brazilian schoolchildren: National Survey of School Health, 2019 / Vacinação contra o papilomavírus humano em escolares brasileiros: Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar, 2019 / Vacunación contra el virus del papiloma humano en escolares brasileños: Encuesta Nacional de Salud del Escolar, 2019

Abstract Objective: to analyze the prevalence of schoolchildren vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) and the reasons related to non-vaccination. Method: cross-sectional study, with data from the 2019 National Survey of School Health. The sample consisted of 160,721 students aged 13 to 17 years. The prevalence and confidence intervals (95%CI) of vaccinated adolescents were estimated according to location, sex, and administrative dependence of the school. The differences between the strata were evaluated with the Chi-square test. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95%CI were estimated with the Poisson regression model. Results: most of the students were vaccinated (62.9%), and the prevalence of girls (76.1%) was higher than that of boys (49.1%). The most prevalent reason for not vaccinating was "did not know they had to take" (46.8%), with the highest aPR in public schoolchildren in Brazil (1.6; 95%CI 1.5;1.7), from the Northeast region (1.2; 95%CI 1.1;1.2), and in students from private schools in the Northeast regions (1.1; 95%CI 1.1;1.2) and North (1.3; 95%CI 1.2;1.4). Conclusion: one out of every two Brazilian schoolchildren was vaccinated against HPV. Misinformation was a recurring reason for non-vaccination. The North and Northeast regions had the highest prevalence of non-vaccinated people, observed mainly in adolescents from public schools.

Resumo Objetivo: analisar a prevalência de escolares vacinados contra o papilomavírus humano (HPV) e os motivos relacionados à não vacinação. Método: estudo transversal, com dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar de 2019. A amostra foi composta por 160.721 estudantes de 13 a 17 anos. Foram estimadas as prevalências e intervalos de confiança (IC95%) de adolescentes vacinados segundo localização, sexo e dependência administrativa da escola. Avaliaram-se as diferenças entre os estratos pelo teste Qui-quadrado. Estimaram-se as razões de prevalência ajustadas (RPa) e os IC95% pelo modelo de regressão de Poisson. Resultados: a maioria dos escolares foram vacinados (62,9%), sendo a prevalência de meninas (76,1%) superior à de meninos (49,1%). O motivo mais prevalente foi "não sabia que tinha que tomar" (46,8%), sendo as RPa mais elevadas em escolares de escolas públicas do Brasil (1,6; IC95% 1,5;1,7), da região Nordeste (1,2; IC95% 1,1;1,2) e em estudantes de escolas privadas das regiões Nordeste (1,1; IC95% 1,1;1,2) e Norte (1,3; IC95% 1,2;1,4). Conclusão: um a cada dois escolares brasileiros foi vacinado contra o HPV. A desinformação foi um motivo frequente para a não vacinação. As regiões Norte e Nordeste apresentaram as maiores prevalências de não vacinados, observadas principalmente em adolescentes de escolas públicas.

Resumen Objetivo: analizar la prevalencia de escolares vacunados contra el virus del papiloma humano (VPH) y las razones relacionadas con la no vacunación. Método: estudio transversal, con datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud del Escolar de 2019. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 160, 721 estudiantes de 13 a 17 años. Se estimaron las prevalencias e intervalos de confianza (IC95%) de adolescentes vacunados según ubicación, sexo y dependencia administrativa de la escuela. Las diferencias entre estratos se evaluaron mediante la prueba de Chi-cuadrado. Se estimaron las razones de prevalencia ajustadas (RPa) y los IC95% por el modelo de regresión de Poisson. Resultados: la mayoría de los escolares fueron vacunados (62,9%), siendo la prevalencia de niñas (76,1%) superior a la de los niños (49,1%). La razón más prevalente fue "no sabía que tenía que tomar" (46,8%), siendo las RPa más elevadas en escolares de escuelas públicas de Brasil (1,6; IC95% 1,5; 1,7), de la región Nordeste (1,2; IC95% 1,1; 1,2) y en estudiantes de escuelas privadas de las regiones de Nordeste (1,1; IC95% 1,1; 1,2) y Norte (1,3; IC95% 1,2; 1,4). Conclusión: uno de cada dos escolares brasileños ha sido vacunado contra el VPH. La desinformación fue una razón frecuente para la no vacunación. Las regiones Norte y Nordeste presentaron las mayores prevalencias de no vacunados, observadas principalmente en adolescentes de escuelas públicas.