Daniel Casey L, Lawson Frances, Vickers Macy, Green Chelsea, Wright Anna, Coyne-Beasley Tamera, Lee Hee Y, Turberville Stacie
Division of Cancer Control and Prevention, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, 1660 Springhill Avenue, Mobile, AL, 36604, USA.
Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jun 29;21(1):1266. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11304-8.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. with over 80 million infected individuals. High-risk strains are associated with 6 different cancers. Although infection is preventable, U.S. vaccination rates remain suboptimal and there are noted disparities between urban and rural communities due to economic barriers, lack of access, and low awareness and education.
The current pilot study sought to overcome these barriers through an interprofessional collaborative enrolling a community pharmacy in a rural, medically underserved Alabama county as a Vaccines for Children (VFC) provider to provide free vaccines to eligible adolescents. Program evaluation was conducted to determine the intervention's feasibility. Potential efficacy was assessed by analyzing county-level HPV vaccination uptake and completion rates using state immunization registry data.
Over the 8-month study, 166 total vaccines were administered to 89 adolescents ages 10-18, including 55 doses of HPV vaccine, 53 doses of Tdap vaccine, 45 doses of meningococcal vaccine, and 13 doses of influenza vaccine. Among these adolescents, mean age was 12.6 years old, and 64 (71.9%) were VFC patients. The pharmacy recorded an increase in total vaccine administration of 158.8%, an increase in prescription revenue of 34.8%, and an increase in total revenue by 24.4% during the course of the study, compared to the previous year.
Findings from the current work demonstrate the potential of this strategy and can serve as a blueprint for statewide and national dissemination and implementation to ultimately increase access to vaccination services, increase vaccination rates, and reduce urban-rural vaccine disparities.
人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）是美国最常见的性传播感染病毒，感染人数超过8000万。高危毒株与6种不同癌症相关。尽管感染是可预防的，但美国的疫苗接种率仍不理想，由于经济障碍、缺乏接种途径以及意识和教育水平低，城乡社区之间存在明显差异。
当前的试点研究试图通过跨专业合作来克服这些障碍，在阿拉巴马州一个农村医疗服务不足的县招募一家社区药房作为儿童疫苗（VFC）供应商，为符合条件的青少年提供免费疫苗。进行项目评估以确定干预措施的可行性。通过使用州免疫登记数据分析县级HPV疫苗接种率和完成率来评估潜在效果。
在为期8个月的研究中，共为89名10至18岁的青少年接种了166剂疫苗，包括55剂HPV疫苗、53剂破伤风类毒素、白喉、无细胞百日咳联合疫苗（Tdap）、45剂脑膜炎球菌疫苗和13剂流感疫苗。在这些青少年中，平均年龄为12.6岁，64人（71.9%）是VFC项目的患者。与上一年相比，药房在研究期间记录的疫苗接种总量增加了158.8%，处方收入增加了34.8%，总收入增加了24.4%。
当前研究结果证明了该策略的潜力，可作为在全州和全国范围内推广和实施的蓝图，最终增加疫苗接种服务的可及性，提高疫苗接种率，并减少城乡疫苗接种差异。
