Grant: Catalyst Grant: HPV Screening & Vaccination in Underserved Populations

HPV vaccination is one of the most important recent interventions for women's health and cancer care. However, these enormous individual and population prevention benefits can only be achieved if individuals actually receive the vaccine. There is low uptake of the HPV vaccine in British Columbia despite having a well-established publically funded school-based immunization program. HPV vaccination uptake varies across the province, with Northern Vancouver Island having some of the lowest HPV vaccine uptake rates in BC. Northern Vancouver Island is home to many underserved rural and remote communities. New evidence suggests that a personalized one-on-one conversation between a health care expert and a vaccine hesitant parent improves uptake of the HPV vaccine by addressing many of the parental concerns and providing valid educational information by a trusted source. We will work collaboratively with community stakeholders, including public health nurses (PHNs), parents, and teachers to develop and carry out a community intervention in the Comox Valley in Fall 2018. PHNs who are responsible for the grade 6 school immunization program will contact parents who did not provide consent for the HPV vaccine. PHNs will have an open conversation, and provide an opportunity for questions and clarification. The vaccine uptake in grade 6 students will be measured within the intervention community and compared to other communities on Vancouver Island who did not receive the intervention. Evaluation measures will include sustainability of the intervention and parental knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs towards HPV vaccination. The impact on public health resources and parental feedback will also be evaluated for future sustainability and scale up. The findings from this project have the potential to shift school-based HPV immunization programs across Canada in an effort to increase HPV vaccine uptake, as we endeavor to eradicate cervical cancer and other HPV related diseases.