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OBJECTIVE

To describe midwives’ practices and attitudes regarding HPV vaccination across different regions of France.

METHOD: This descriptive cross-sectional study used an anonymous online questionnaire conducted from October 17, 2022, to February 10, 2023, among independent midwives in the Île-de-France region and two overseas departments: Mayotte and Réunion. The questionnaire covered three areas: 1) professional characteristics; 2) practices and opinions on vaccination; 3) barriers to vaccination. Descriptive analyses were performed, and the three regions were compared. Qualitative variables were analyzed using chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests, as appropriate, with R software.

RESULTS

A total of 206 completed questionnaires were obtained: 123/877 (14%) from Île-de-France, 22/49 (45%) from Mayotte, and 61/162 (38%) from Réunion. Our results show that midwives in Réunion were significantly less supportive of HPV vaccination (75.4% vs. 89.4% in Île-de-France and 86.4% in Mayotte, p = 0.04), and fewer administered the vaccine (34.4% in Réunion vs. 64.2% in Île-de-France and 54.5% in Mayotte, p < 0.001). Reported barriers to vaccination included limited knowledge of their vaccination competence, insufficient promotion and information about the vaccine, and reliance on routine vaccination through general practitioners.

CONCLUSIONS

Midwives have the potential to play a larger role in HPV vaccination. Given lower support and practice levels in Réunion, this region should be prioritized for midwife training and public education on the benefits of vaccination and midwives’ vaccination competencies.