Recent reviews have identified interventions for increasing HPV vaccination, but effects were small and evidence was often insufficient to identify best practices. The National HPV Vaccination Roundtable sponsored a one-day meeting in the United States in 2016 on best and promising practices in HPV vaccine delivery, in part to identify important research gaps.
Meeting participants were ~500 HPV vaccine delivery experts including scientists, clinicians, and other stakeholders, including ~400 who streamed the event online. Throughout the meeting, facilitators encouraged attendees to identify gaps that future research should address, and write them on display boards or send via email or Twitter. In-person attendees then voted for up to five gaps they believed were top priorities. Gap numbers refer to their priority ranking, with Gap 1 having received the most votes.
Attendees identified 33 research gaps. Several themes emerged among the 12 prioritized gaps. One theme was social media and vaccine confidence, which included: Gap 1, how to increase HPV vaccine confidence by intervening in social media; Gap 4, how to address rumors about HPV vaccine that spread via social media; and Gap 8, how to address parents’ concerns and hesitancy about HPV vaccine. A second theme was healthcare provider interventions, which included: Gap 2, how to encourage providers to attend in-clinic quality improvement interventions; Gap 6, how to intervene with the entire medical team; and Gap 10, how to increase HPV vaccination during acute care visits. A third theme was system-level approaches, which included: Gap 3, best practices for health insurers and plans; Gap 12, the impact of quality standards; Gap 11, effective system-level changes in large health systems and hospitals; and Gap 5, the impact of connecting immunization information systems to electronic health records (EHRs) and exchanging data bi-directionally. Two other prioritized gaps that did not fit these themes were Gap 7, determining what interventions work in rural areas; and Gap 9, the impact of survivor testimonials.
Experts identified and prioritized research gaps that may have promise for increasing HPV vaccination in the US and internationally. It is critical to develop and evaluate interventions in each of these areas to close existing gaps and identify best practices for increasing HPV vaccination. Grant support: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1H23IP000931-01, Saslow, PI).