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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
recommendations. However, it would be interesting to monitor the same in the coming years.
LIMITATIONS
There are several limitations to this study. HPV vaccination data from BRFSS are self-reported. Young adults might not be able to recall accurately which vaccines they received as adolescents. As a result, HPV vaccination may be underestimated. Secondly, not all states participate in the HPV vaccination module. The data set was limited to participating states for each year. Thirdly, small sample sizes, especially for the combined data for males, resulted in unreliable estimates and had to be suppressed according to the BRFSS guidelines.
In spite of these limitations, examining the prevalence of HPV vaccination variation in sub groups. Future studies could seek to explore and address these disparities in HPV vaccination coverage.
CONCLUSION
Each year in the United States, an estimated 39,000 cancers are attributed to HPV infection.1 The majority of
these cancers could be prevented by receipt of the 9-valent HPV vaccine.1,2 Except for cervical cancer, there are
no routine recommended screening practices for other cancers, such as oropharyngeal and anal cancers caused by HPV infections. Improvement in
HPV vaccination coverage will reduce the health consequences of HPV infections among adults. This report shows HPV vaccination coverage among both males and females remains below the HP2020 objective. The study also highlights disparities in HPV vaccination
coverage, thus providing baseline data
for implementing strategies and targeting interventions to improve HPV vaccination practices.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author would like to thank the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for making available the data for this research.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
■ SANGEETAGUPTA,MD,MPHisanAssociate Professor in the Department of Public and Allied Health Sciences at Delaware State University. Her primary research interest is in the area of chronic diseases. She is also currently DSU PI for the CTR- ACCEL program in Delaware.
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