Page 33 - Delaware Medical Journal - January/February 2019
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
more likely to report HPV vaccination initiation and completion. Insured females with a personal doctor were likely to facilitate opportunities for vaccination reminders, thus leading to increased coverage. Unmarried females higher HPV vaccination initiation and completion as compared to females in a couple relationship or who were single (widowed or divorced).
Reasons for these disparities need to be explored further. Increasing parental acceptance of HPV vaccine may have played a role. Disparities in female HPV vaccination coverage was also found by MSA status. HPV vaccination initiation published in a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).11 Findings from an MMWR study
found other vaccination coverage to
be substantially higher in non-MSA areas, thus concluding that factors other than access to vaccination services
are likely responsible for the low HPV vaccination coverage in these areas. I concur with the recommendations from the MMWR report that include a need to better understand the variations in HPV vaccination coverage by MSA vaccination initiation or completion was found based on having had a Pap test, unlike previous studies.7
HPV vaccination in males was a low as 4.4% in 2011 and increased steadily to as high as 19.2% in 2015. This is
to be expected, as recommendations for male HPV vaccination came into effect in 2011. HPV vaccine coverage is low among males. Possible reasons are unawareness and misconceptions regarding HPV vaccines for males. Increased provider participation and
parental attitudes and acceptance
are expected to play a crucial role in increasing HPV vaccination coverage in males in the coming years. Disparities in HPV vaccination coverage in males were found to be nearly similar to found by MSA status, insurance, having a personal doctor, race, and income.
The good news is that HPV vaccination for both males and females continues to increase nearly every year, suggesting an overall integration of HPV vaccination for males and females into immunization practices. In 2016, the HPV vaccination schedule was changed from a three-dose course to
a two-dose course for the 9-14-year immunocompetent age group, and it is hoped that this revised recommendation may encourage parental acceptance.
For obvious reasons, this study does
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