Improving HPV Vaccination Completion Rates in Adolescents

Purpose: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was approved for use by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2006. Adolescents do not present for routine exams as often and as parents often do not know the dosing schedule; the HPV vaccination completion rates remain low. The purpose of this article is to determine if receiving follow-up HPV infection information, vaccination reminders, and/or communication interventions will increase HPV vaccination completion rates. Method: A non-experimental, cross-sectional design with retrospective electronic medical data review was conducted via PubMed and Medline. Search terms included HPV vaccination completion, HPV vaccination and communication intervention, vaccinations and provider intervention, and HPV vaccination and adolescence. Ten articles were deemed pertinent to this topic and will be utilized for this clinical review. Results: Forty-nine percent of adolescents have completed the HPV vaccination series. This falls below the goal of Healthy People 2020, which aims for 80% completion rate of the HPV vaccination in girls ages 13-15 years. Communication and provider intervention methods including text messaging, reminder calls, brochures, posters, and postcards are an effective way to increase HPV vaccination completion rates. Conclusion: The HPV vaccination was approved for use beginning in 2006; however, completion rates remain low, with only 49% of adolescents having completed the series. Common reasons for low HPV vaccine completion rates is lack of adolescents presenting for routine exams, and parents being unaware that the HPV vaccine is a series of two or three immunizations. Several communication intervention methods have been studied to determine if their use will increase HPV vaccination completion. Communication interventions, as well as provider intervention, have been found to be effective methods for increasing HPV vaccination completion rates