Increased clinician education and the development of evidence-based tools are needed to improve quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV4) implementation rates in a primary care setting, according to a survey conducted by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Between July and September of 2010, the ACIP conducted a mail and internet survey targeting a nationally representative sample of pediatricians and family medicine practitioners. About 72% of all clinicians responded (609 of 842); most believed that they were justified in the routine use of HPV4 vaccination in males; 33% recommended HPV4 to 11- and 12-year-old males, making stronger recommendations to older adolescents.
Clinicians “who reported recommending HPV4 … were more likely to be from urban locations, perceive that HPV4 is efficacious, perceive that HPV-related disease is severe, and routinely discuss sexual health with 11- to 12-year-olds,” wrote study author Mandy A. Allison, MD, MSPH, of the Children’s Outcomes Research Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado, in Aurora, Colorado.
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Reference
- Allison MA, Dunne EF, Markowitz LE, et al. HPV vaccination of boys in primary care practices. Acad Pediatr. 2013 Sept-Oct;13(5):446-474. Doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2013.03.006
