In 2012, the President's Cancer Panel recommended the promotion of state-level implementation of school-located adolescent vaccination programs to increase HPV vaccination. National guidelines recommend vaccination of adolescents against oncogenic HPV to reduce rates of cervical and other HPV-associated cancers. However, in 2011 only one third of U.S. girls aged 13-17 had received all three recommended HPV vaccine doses, and these rates were lower among minority and low-income teens. School-located vaccination programs have been successfully implemented for influenza and hepatitis B vaccination in some areas, but such programs remain underutilized for vaccination against HPV in the United States. In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of adolescent vaccine programs, a greater understanding is needed of trends and disparities in HPV-associated cancers and adolescent vaccination coverage, as well as of issues related to the design and implementation of programs to deliver adolescent vaccinations in schools. We propose to hold a national meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, to (1) review current disparities in HPV-associated cancers and adolescent vaccination coverage, and (2) discuss current best practices, opportunities, and challenges in implementing school-located adolescent vaccination programs. The meeting will be attended by 40 stakeholders, including providers, researchers, clinicians, insurers, public health professionals, policy makers, and educators. A conference advisory committee comprised of experts in the areas of health care services, cancer prevention, adolescent vaccination, insurance, education, clinical immunization, and public health policy will provide input on the final agenda, list of meeting invitees, and strategic meetig approach. Presentations, panels, and facilitated discussions will cover proposed meeting themes: health information technology and data management, coordination with medical home providers, patient safety, parental consent, school system burdens, and reimbursement via public and private payers. The University of North Carolina-based project team will be responsible for meeting organization and will produce a white paper summarizing the evidence presented, issues discussed, and research agenda developed during the meeting for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and dissemination via partner organizations.
National U.S. guidelines recommend universal vaccination of adolescents against oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) to reduce future rates of cervical and other HPV-related cancers, but coverage rates remain low among all adolescents, particularly minority and low- income teens. The 2012 President's Cancer Panel recommended that states implement school- located adolescent vaccination programs to increase HPV vaccination, but these programs remain underutilized. The proposed one-day national meeting will bring together 40 multidisciplinary researchers, providers, public health professionals, educators, policy makers, and insurers to discuss current trends in HPV-related cancer epidemiology and adolescent vaccination, and to develop a research agenda for gathering evidence necessary to (a) address current gaps in knowledge and (b) develop effective strategies for implementation of school- located adolescent vaccination projects.
