From Google Scholar & other sources: Selected Journal Articles, Newsletters, Dissertations, Theses, Commentary

ASIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
Oct-Dec 2014 | Vol 5 | Issue 4
[PDF] Knowledge, attitude and perceptions of mothers with children under five years of age about vaccination in Mangalore, India
Soundarya Mahalingam1, Abhijna Soori2, Pradhum Ram2, Basavaprabhu Achappa3, Mukta Chowta4, Deepak Madi3
1Associate Professor, Paediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Affiliate to Manipal University, 2Final Year MBBS Student, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Affiliate to Manipal University, 3Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Affiliate to Manipal University, 4Additional Professor, Pharmacology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Affiliate to Manipal University
Abstract
Objective: Vaccination is a cost-effective intervention to prevent major illnesses that contribute to child mortality in the country. Increase in parental knowledge about vaccination will lead to increase in vaccination rates of children The main aim of our study was to assess the Knowledge (K), attitudes (A) and perceptions (KAP) of mothers with children under five years of age about vaccination. We also compared the KAP data between urban and rural setup.
Methodology: This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on mothers attending the Urban Health Centre (in Mangalore city) and on mothers attending a Peripheral Health Centre (Bengre, outskirts of Mangalore) having children under five years of ageA semi structured pre validated questionnaire designed to assess the Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions about vaccination was administered to mothers attending the Urban Health Centre and on mothers attending a Peripheral Health Centre having children under five years of age.
Results: Among the study participants, 74 were from urban setup and 126 from rural set up. Around 8 (10.8%) from urban area and 78(61.9%) from rural area were illiterate. Mothers were the main decision makers regarding vaccination of the child in both urban and rural setup. The main source of information regarding vaccination differed among urban and rural setup, being the hospital and the anganwadi worker respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between urban and rural mothers when it was asked whether they knew why vaccination was important. A majority of the mothers both in the urban and rural areas believed that vaccines were safe. Among the urban mothers 90.5% and 62.7% of mother from rural were able to identify polio as a vaccine preventable disease. On a net analysis, 64(86.5%) mothers in the urban area and only 64 (50.8%) mothers in the rural area mothers found to have favourable knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices towards vaccination.
Conclusion: A significant number of mothers in rural areas were unaware about the vaccination and its implications. Even in the urban areas we found significant lacunae in the KAP of mothers towards childhood vaccination.

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU)
Volume 25, Number 2, May 2014
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_health_care_for_the_poor_and_underserved/toc/hpu.25.2.html
Cervical Cancer and HPV: Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors among Women Living in Guatemala
Amy Petrocy, Mira L. Katz
Abstract:
This study was conducted to explore knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about cervical cancer, cervical cancer screening, human papillomavirus (HPV), and acceptance of the HPV vaccine. A purposive sample of 40 women was interviewed during August 2012. Fisher’s exact test was used to evaluate differences among rural and urban women, and open-ended questions were coded independently by two individuals (Cohen’s kappa coefficient of 0.816). Among the 22 rural and 18 urban women, there was limited knowledge about cervical cancer, screening, HPV, and the HPV vaccine. Cervical cancer was described in language related to gender, science, severity, or associated with having children, a uterus, or menstruation. All rural and most urban participants were interested in the HPV vaccine for themselves and their daughters. Limited awareness and knowledge about cervical cancer and HPV was common among Guatemalan women, highlighting the need for additional information prior to developing cancer prevention educational materials and programs.

Fighting Cervical Cancer with Vaccines and Vinegar
Embassy of the United States of America in Gaborone, Botswana
[no issue date evident]
Excerpt
Gaborone, Botswana – Two years ago, Dr. Mmakgomo “Mimi” Raesima was put in charge of cervical cancer prevention at the Ministry of Health with the task of figuring out how to end its reign as the No. 1 cancer killer of women in Botswana.
This was no easy task given that cervical cancer accounts for more than a quarter of all cancer in Batswana women. Worldwide, about half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and around 275,000 women die from the disease, 85% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.
Undeterred by these challenges, Dr. Raesima has taken the reins and set into motion a new prevention and control strategy with some innovative and cost-effective techniques for fighting cervical cancer in Botswana, including two unlikely weapons: vaccines and vinegar.
With support from partners including the U.S. government, Dr. Raesima plans to scale-up “See and Treat” clinics where women are screened for cervical cancer, diagnosed and treated all in one visit. The clinics use a remarkably simple and low-cost acetic test – otherwise known as household vinegar – to screen for cancerous cells in women.
Meanwhile, plans are moving ahead to vaccinate young Batswana women against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of cervical cancer. Last year, more than 2,000 girls between the ages of 9-11 were voluntarily vaccinated in a demonstration project in Molepolole schools. This year starting in March, the HPV vaccine was being offered in Kweneng East, Kweneng West and Selibe-Phikwe districts.
“Botswana is becoming a leader in the response to cervical cancer and that is exciting,” Dr. Raesima said in a recent interview.
Partnerships between the Government of Botswana and the United States through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Initiative (PRRR) have helped to put the strategy into motion, Raesima said. “The reason that we are moving ahead so quickly is because of this support. It’s what’s driving our strategy.”…