HPV Vaccination Rate Among Adolescents in a Community Health Center

Abstract

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([CDC], 2019d), about 80 million Americans are infected with some form of human papillomavirus (HPV) and about 14 million Americans, including teens, become infected each year. Healthy People 2020 set a target goal to have 80% of male and female adolescents age 13 to 15 years old receive 2 or 3 doses of HPV vaccine as recommended (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion). The purpose of this project was to implement educational interventions to increase the HPV vaccine coverage rate in Wahiawā Health. An educational presentation was directed toward pediatric providers, medical assistants, and front desk staff regarding the information on HPV immunizations, guidelines, and how to answer frequently asked questions of parent concerns. An HPV vaccine handout was available for parents and patients at the check-in area and pediatric exam rooms. A total of 23 participants attended the educational presentation. Before the presentation, a pre-quiz showed an average of 59.3 percent compared to an average of 97.5 percent correct answers after the presentation. From January to June 2019, an average of 65.5 percent of patients age 9-17 received at least one HPV immunization during their visit. After implementation, from October to December 2019, the average decreased to 49.6 percent. Though the educational presentation increased knowledge and confidence, the results of this project demonstrated that solely having educational interventions does not increase the HPV vaccination uptake.