All too frequently, girls between the ages of 11 and 17 who initiated the human papillomavirus vaccine fail to complete the complete the inoculation series. Research published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics examines some of the reasons for this trend.
Authors of the study conducted interviews with the parents or guardians of female adolescents and their pediatric primary care providers in one inner-city public clinic and three private practices. All total, 65 parents or guardians participated.
The study revealed:
1. Of the 65 participants, 37 had daughters who only received one or two vaccine doses and 28 had daughters who completed the series.
2. A majority (89 percent) of the adults whose daughter did not complete the series intended to do so, but encountered logistical barriers or were not reminded by the clinic. Four adults (11 percent) chose to have their daughter not complete the series by choice.
3. Fourteen of the 33 providers who participated in the study, or roughly half, said they told parents when the next doses were due but relied on parents to schedule appointments.
4. Eleven providers (41 percent) scheduled the second dose when the first dose was given and two (7 percent) tried to immunize patients when they returned for other appointments.
5. Notably, none of the parents or providers said the need for three separate HPV vaccine doses was a barrier to completing the series.
"Most failure to complete the HPV vaccine series occurred because providers expected parents to make appointments while parents expected to be reminded," concluded the study authors. "Increased use of reminder/recall systems and team-based care with clear communication of expectations regarding appointment scheduling could increase completion rates."
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