Human papillomavirus vaccination uptake and determinant factors among adolescent schoolgirls in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Despite the ongoing global vaccination campaign aimed at preventing human papillomavirus (HPV) related health issues, the uptake of the HPV vaccine remains unacceptably low in developing regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at determining the pooled prevalence and associated factors of HPV vaccine uptake among adolescent school girls in SSA. Electronic bio-medical databases were explored. Pooled prevalence, publication bias, meta-regression, sub-group, and sensitivity analysis were performed. The estimated pooled prevalence of HPV vaccine uptake was 28.53% [95% CI: (5.25, 51.81)]. Having good knowledge and a positive attitude was significantly associated with HPV vaccine uptake in SSA. Subgroup analysis revealed the highest uptake was 62.52% from Kenya and the lowest was 3.77% in Nigeria. The HPV vaccine uptake is low. It underscores the need for community education, school-based immunization, and education programs that promote the uptake of the vaccine to increase coverage.

KEYWORDS:

• Uptake
• human papilloma virus vaccine
• adolescent
• sub-Saharan Africa
• systematic review
• meta-analysis

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to all the researchers whose studies were included in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All associated data and supporting information are included in this systematic review and meta-analysis.

Authors’ contribution

YSA, TMK, and BLS; conceived and designed the study, methodology, data analysis and interpretation, and writing original draft. KUM, ZAA, HAA, and AHS; established the search strategy, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of included studies. Writing review and editing: TMT, ALL, BFK, BMF, YSA, GAK, and TMK. All the authors read and approved the manuscript.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website at https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2024.2326295

Additional information

Funding

This study did not receive any specific grant from any organization in either the public or commercial sector.