Human papillomavirus vaccine series follow-through: comparison of four clinics in an academic medical center

Abigail Sorensen; Brittney Moore; Hannah Morris; Lindsay Cortright; Cierra Buckman; Dmitry Tumin; K. Drew Baker

doi:10.1515/ijamh-2020-0145

Article

Human papillomavirus vaccine series follow-through: comparison of four clinics in an academic medical center

Abigail Sorensen , Brittney Moore , Hannah Morris , Lindsay Cortright , Cierra Buckman , Dmitry Tumin and K. Drew Baker

Published/Copyright: September 1, 2020

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From the journal International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Volume 34 Issue 6

Abstract

Objective

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series be initiated at ages 11–12 years, but many children never follow-through with the series. By examining differences in clinic-specific vaccine series follow-through rates across four clinics, we aimed to identify best practices related to communication around the vaccine and pathways to follow-through.

Methods

We used the electronic medical record (EMR) to retrospectively analyze HPV vaccine follow-through at four clinic settings. We limited the sample to children ages 11–17 who received a dose of the vaccine series at any of the clinics between January 2015 and June 2018. The primary outcome was follow-through of the HPV vaccine series within 18 months of initiation.

Results

A total of 3,813 patients were included in this study, 29% of which followed through with the HPV vaccine series. There was significant variability of vaccine follow-through among the clinics (p<0.001), with the Med/Peds clinic having the highest rate of follow-through (32%). After adjusting for confounding variables, multivariable analysis found that Med/Peds and Family Medicine had higher odds of HPV vaccine series follow-through than the Pediatrics clinic.

Conclusions

We found that the likelihood of vaccine series follow-through was highest when the series was started in the Med/Peds and Family Medicine clinics, compared to Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. These results suggest that further qualitative research is needed to understand what communication strategies are most effective at facilitating HPV vaccine uptake among adolescents, and how the most effective strategies can be shared among clinics.

Keywords: adolescent health; public health; vaccine uptake

Corresponding author: Hannah Morris, BA, Department of Pediatrics, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. 600 Moye Blvd, Greenville, NC 27834, USA, Phone: 252-744-4773, Fax: 252-744-4297, E-mail: morrish17@ecu.edu

Research funding: None declared.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Ethical conduct of research: This project was approved by the Institutional Review Board of East Carolina University. Patient risk was minimal, and appropriate safeguards were in place to protect patient confidentiality. In addition, all study team members were trained in ethical study conduct.

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Received: 2020-06-15

Accepted: 2020-08-04

Published Online: 2020-09-01

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2020-0145

Keywords for this article

adolescent health; public health; vaccine uptake