Steven Docimo, MD Executive Vice President, Business Development and Strategy | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Steven Docimo, MD Executive Vice President, Business Development and Strategy | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
A study published in Pediatrics evaluated the effectiveness of a bundled intervention to increase HPV vaccination rates across 24 primary care practices. The research, titled "A Bundled, Practice-Based Intervention to Increase HPV Vaccination," focused on reducing missed opportunities for vaccinating eligible adolescents. The intervention included online training for clinicians on vaccine communication, feedback on missed opportunities, and prompts to order the HPV vaccine.
The results showed improvement in vaccination rates during well child care (WCC) visits but not during other types of visits. Specifically, missed opportunities for initial doses decreased by 4.8% and for subsequent doses by 2.2%. No particular practice characteristics were linked to these improvements, indicating that the intervention's effectiveness was broadly applicable.
The study found that communication training is crucial in reducing missed vaccination opportunities. This involves using a clear announcement approach when discussing vaccinations with parents, which helps reduce hesitancy by framing it as a routine recommendation.
However, the intervention did not significantly improve vaccination rates during acute or chronic visits. The authors suggest focusing efforts on WCC visits and possibly chronic care visits where more time might be available.
Additional resources include educational activities and toolkits designed to support healthcare providers in improving HPV vaccination rates.
Contributed by Sharon G. Humiston, MD, MPH, FAAP
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