Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015;11(2):347-9.
doi: 10.4161/21645515.2014.994458.

Social marketing to promote HPV vaccination in pre-teenage children: talk about a sexually transmitted infection

Joan R Cates  1 , Tamera Coyne-Beasley
Affiliations

Social marketing to promote HPV vaccination in pre-teenage children: talk about a sexually transmitted infection

Joan R Cates et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2015.

Abstract

A significant barrier to the delivery of HPV vaccine is reluctance by both healthcare providers and parents to vaccinate at age 11 or 12, which may be considered a young age. This barrier has been called "vaccine hesitancy" in recent research. In this commentary, we suggest using social marketing strategies to promote HPV vaccination at the recommended preteen ages. We emphasize a critical public health message of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) as preventable and vaccination against HPV as a way to protect against its consequences. The message tackles the issue of vaccine hesitancy head on, by saying that most people are at risk for HPV and there is a way to prevent HPV's serious consequences of cancer. Our approach to this conversation in the clinical setting is also to engage the preteen in a dialog with the parent and provider. We expect our emphasis on the risk of STI infection will not only lead to increased HPV vaccination at preteen ages but also lay important groundwork for clinical adoption of other STI vaccines in development (HIV, HSV, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea) as well as begin conversations to promote sexual health.

Keywords: HPV; HPV vaccination; STI; preteen; sexually transmitted infection; social marketing.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Human papillomavirus vaccination coverage among adolescents, 2007–2013, and postlicensure vaccine safety monitoring, 2006–2014 — United States. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,. July 25 2014; 63(29):620-624. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dunne E. Human Papillomavirus Vaccines: Prevention of important diseases and cancers March 7, 2013; PowerPoint (slides 21,34) Available at: http://illinoisaap.org/wp-content/uploads/AAP_presentationMarch2013.pdf. Accessed September 30, 2014.
    1. National Cancer Institute Accelerating HPV vaccine uptake: urgency for action to prevent Cancer. A Report to the President of the United States from the President's Cancer Panel 2014. http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/HPV/index.htm
    1. McRee A-L, Gilkey MB, Dempsey AF. HPV Vaccine Hesitancy: Findings From a Statewide Survey of Health Care Providers. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. (0). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Williams SE. What are the factors that contribute to parental vaccine-hesitancy and what can we do about it? Hum Vaccin Immunothera 09/01 2014; 10(9):0-1; http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.28596 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources