Assessing the Effectiveness of a Quality Improvement Intervention to Decrease Missed Opportunities for Human Papillomavirus Vaccination at a Nurse Managed Health Center

Purpose: To decrease the number of missed opportunities for human papillomavirus vaccine eligible patients seeking healthcare in a Nurse Managed Health Center. Background & Significance: Human papillomavirus genital infection has inflicted nearly 79 million Americans. Annually, about 14 million newly infected individuals are identified, with noted predominance in teens and young adults, and of this number approximately 19,200 females and 11,600 males receive a cancer diagnosis as a result of the human papillomavirus infection. The incidence of infections can be reduced with a human papillomavirus vaccine, but only about 63% of females and even fewer males initiate the human papillomavirus vaccine. Methods: A Nurse Managed Health Center assisting the underserved population, in a major southwestern metropolitan city was chosen to implement a Qualified Patient Prompter tool used to screen for human papillomavirus eligibility in all patients seeking healthcare in this Nurse Managed Health Center. A reminder card strategy was used at the end of the accepted human papillomavirus vaccine visit. Results: 334 patient records were reviewed and 135 were eligible to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine; 60 opted to receive it and 75 declined. Conclusion: A 100% of all patients seen were evaluated for human papillomavirus vaccine eligibility. The intervention decreased missed opportunities by 100%. Continued efforts will focus on increasing human papillomavirus vaccine acceptance rates. The Nurse Managed Health Center fully support the continued use of the Qualified Patient Prompter, which was effective within this population