Women whose daughters are offered the HPV vaccine show an increased interest in cervical cancer screening, according to a study in the north west of England.
Researchers found that a family invitation to undergo the vaccine made women more likely than others to take part in cervical screening. This applied even when women had ignored previous invitations.
The project at Manchester University studied more than 200,000 women and their daughters over a three year period.
They were able to compare the mothers of girls invited for vaccination with the mothers of girls not offered the HPV vaccine.
The research showed an HPV vaccine offer "significantly" increased the likelihood of a woman undertaking cervical cancer screening.
Researcher Angela Spencer said: “Potentially, a lack of knowledge or understanding about the causes and risk of cervical cancer could prevent women from attending screening. We wanted to see if a daughter’s involvement in HPV vaccination stimulated her mother’s cervical screening attendance.
“Subsequently mothers told us that they often still have reservations about screening but discussing vaccination and screening with their daughters encouraged some to set an example by returning to the screening programme.”
Effect of Human Papillomavirus vaccination of daughters on the cervical screening uptake of their non-vaccinated mothers European Journal of Public Health August 2015 [abstract]
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