HPV vaccination completion rates among teens can be increased by outreach programs: study

Cervical cancer affects a large number of women in the United States alone. In 2012, about 12,042 women were affected by this disease, CDC reports. Formerly the leading cause of cancer death in women, cervical cancer rates have decreased significantly due to the availability of regular pap tests and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.

A new study coming from UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health & Hospital System in Texas reveals that a multicomponent outreach program helped women complete the three-dose HPV vaccination series that decreases the risk for cervical cancer, EurekAlert reports.

Researchers studied 814 girls aged 11 to 18 at four different safety-net clinics in Dallas County from 2010 to 2011, UPI reports. Safety-net clinics were chosen because cervical cancer is more common among low-income populations, the researchers pointed out. 68% of the participants in the study were Hispanic, and 28% were African-American.

"Delivery of the HPV vaccine in safety-net settings is critically important because uninsured African-American and Hispanic women have higher rates of cervical cancer," Dr. Jasmin Tiro, Associate Professor of Clinical Sciences at UT Southwestern and study lead, explained.

The group was divided into two, with one group receiving standard vaccine brochures, while the other participated in a multicomponent outreach program featuring an HPV-vaccine specific brochure, phone calls to parents who declined, and follow-up calls for patients who were overdue in taking the second and third shots. Twelve months later, HPV one-dose and three-dose coverage rates were checked upon through electronic health records.

Results showed that the HPV vaccine-specific educational brochure, which was designed to motivate parents to begin the series of vaccinations, had mixed results by race or ethnicity. Researchers found that the brochure was effective for Hispanic parents only. The brochure was developed using feedback from Parkland parents to explain the value of the cancer-fighting HPV vaccine in a culturally sensitive way.

"Our study shows that one brochure does not work for all parents at Parkland," Dr. Tiro explained. "Parents have different information needs, and different messages will motivate them to start the series. As a follow-up to this study, our current grant from the NCI supports testing a tablet-based self-persuasion intervention to address the needs of different subpopulations at Parkland - adolescent girls and boys, Hispanics, and African-Americans."

Contributing author Dr. Celette Sugg Skinner also commented, "HPV vaccine delivery is challenging because of the dosing schedule and parental hesitation about vaccines. Given these challenges, we must offer both education and vaccine opportunities at all health care visits."