Objective  To investigate the knowledge on cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and intention choice of daughters′ free HPV vaccination scheme among mothers of school-age girls for providing evidence to administrative departments in developing relevant vaccination strategies.

  Methods  Using convenient sampling and a self-designed questionnaire, we conducted an online survey among 1 648 mothers of girls aged 9 – 15 years through official WeChat website of Suzhou Vaccination during October 2022. The data collected from 1 484 eligible respondents were statistically analyzed.

  Results   Of the 1 484 respondents for the four listed HPV vaccination schemes available to their daughters (including free domestic bivalent or subsidized HPV vaccine supplied by health administrative departments), 699 (47.10%) selected plan 2 (free domestic bivalent HPV vaccine or partially subsidized vaccination of other HPV vaccines); 565 (38.07%) selected plan 1 (with cash subsidy for other HPV vaccination according to the price of two-dose vaccination of domestic bivalent HPV vaccine); 161 (10.85%) selected plan 3 (free vaccination of domestic HPV vaccine or self-paid vaccination of other HPV vaccines); and 59 (3.98%) selected plan 4 (self-paid vaccination of all other HPV vaccines available). Nine-valent HPV vaccine was the most frequently selected vaccine reported by the four groups of respondents with different intention choice of the vaccination scheme, with the selecting ratios of 94.16%, 83.26%, 55.28%, and 98.31% for the respondents reporting the intention choice of vaccination plan 2, 1, 3, and 4, respectively. The respondents' intention choice of daughters′ free HPV vaccination scheme differed significantly by educational background (χ² = 53.77, P < 0.05), monthly household income (χ² = 49.07, P < 0.05), and the score of cognition on cervical cancer and HPV vaccine (χ² = 8.19, P = 0.04). The results of multivariate logistic regression model showed that compared to those with a monthly household income of ≥ 20 001 (Chinese Yuan), the respondents with a monthly household income of ≤ 5 000 were more likely to select the plan 1 (odds ratio OR = 5.65), plan 2 (OR = 5.31), and plan 3 (OR = 14.34) other than the plan 4; the respondents with a monthly household income of 10 001 – 15 000 were likely to select the plan 3 (OR = 2.59) other than the plan 4; and the respondents with a monthly family income of 5 001 – 10 000 were more likely to select the plan 3 (OR = 2.60) other than the plan 4.

  Conclusion  In Suzhou city, about one half of the mothers of school-age girls intend to select free domestic bivalent vaccine or partially subsidized vaccination of other vaccines for their daughters′ free HPV vaccination scheme, with nine-valent HPV vaccine being the most frequently selected vaccine, and the intention choice is mainly influenced by maternal monthly household income and education background.