A Simple Intervention to Increase Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in a Family Medicine Practice

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus that is the leading cause of cervical cancer world- wide. It is vaccine-preventable. According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 60 percent of girls have started the HPV vaccination series countrywide and only 50 percent of boys have started. South Dakota is below this national average. In an effort to assess - and improve - HPV vaccination rates in our practice a quality improvement effort was undertaken. Two interventions were implemented a month apart: the first was a mailing to the parent(s) of all patients 11-12 years of age during the time period of the intervention; the second was an in-office reminder system for both patients and physicians at the time of an office encounter. After each of the interventions, the immunization rate for one injection was significantly greater than baseline; while slightly higher than baseline, that for those receiving both injections was not statistically different for either intervention.