Impact of interventions to improve HPV vaccination acceptance and uptake in school-based programs: Findings of a pilot project in Quebec

• Published in: Vaccine 2024-07, Vol.42 (18), p.3768-3773
• Main Authors: Dionne, Maude, Étienne, Doriane, Witteman, Holly O., Sauvageau, Chantal, Dubé, Ève
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptability; Adolescent; Adult; Cervical cancer; Child; Children & youth; Consent; Data collection; Decision making; Electronic mail systems; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Hepatitis; HPV vaccine; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Immunization; Immunization Programs; Intervention; Male; Papillomavirus Infections - prevention & control; Papillomavirus Vaccines - administration & dosage; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Pilot Projects; Public health; Quebec; Questionnaires; School Health Services; School nurses; School principals; School-based immunization program; Schools; Single sex education; Statistical analysis; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vaccination - psychology; Vaccination - statistics & numerical data; Vaccination Coverage - statistics & numerical data; Vaccination Hesitancy - psychology; Vaccination Hesitancy - statistics & numerical data; Vaccine coverage; Vaccines
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.04.089

•We report the evaluation of a multicomponent strategy to promote HPV vaccine in schools.•Three interventions were implemented in 32 schools and compared with 32 control schools.•Parents in pilot schools were more likely to vaccinate and less concerned about safety after.•A significant difference in HPV vaccine coverage was observed between pilot and control schools.•Our multicomponent strategy appears effective to enhance HPV acceptability and coverage. Vaccination coverage against human papillomavirus (HPV) in school-based programs in Quebec, Canada, is suboptimal despite more than a decade of introduction. Three interventions to improve HPV vaccine acceptability and coverage in school-based programs were developed, implemented as part of a multicomponent strategy and evaluated. Sixty-four (64) schools were recruited, of which 32 received the interventions (pilot schools), and 32 received usual vaccination activities (control schools). Two approaches were used to assess the impact of the interventions. Pre-post questionnaires were completed by parents in both pilot and control schools. Quantitative analyses of vaccination coverage using the Quebec immunization registry were conducted. Participating parents (n = 989 in the pre-intervention survey and n = 772 in the post-intervention one) were generally aware of HPV and HPV vaccination. Most parents were confident about vaccination, had little or no hesitation and had decided to have their child vaccinated. Parents in the pilot schools were less concerned about vaccine safety than those in the control schools after the interventions. Parents in the pilot schools were also more likely to have decided to have their child vaccinated. A statistically significant difference of 7.4 % in HPV vaccine coverage between pilot and control schools was observed (82.9 % vs 75.5 %, p