Human papillomavirus vaccination completion rates among gynecological providers: an institutional retrospective review

Abstract

Objective: The primary aim of this study is to assess and characterize correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series completion among young adult women evaluated by gynecological (GYN) providers at a single institution and to measure changes over 4-y period.Methods: At a major academic center, the medical records of 845 women administered the HPV vaccine series by a GYN provider were retrospectively reviewed from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 2015. Patients were grouped based on the date of vaccine initiation into earlier (2006-2010) and later (2014-2015) cohorts. Patient demographics, dates of vaccine administration, and practice locations where vaccines were administered were collected. Patients who received all 3 vaccines within 6months were deemed complete. Patients seen by a provider but did not receive the vaccination were deemed missed opportunities. The primary outcome was completion of HPV vaccination according to the ACIP guidelines.Results: The 845 patients were divided into earlier (n=399) and later (n=446) cohorts. There was no statistically significant difference in completion rates between the earlier-cohort compared to the later-cohort (35.2% vs. 30.9%, p =.20). Age at initiation were similar (p =.61), with the complete cohort having a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than the incomplete cohort (p =.0015). There was a significant difference between the completion rates among race/ethnic groups (p =.036). African-American and Hispanic (18.9% and 20.0%, respectively, p =.04) patient-populations had the lowest completion rates and higher missed opportunities.Conclusion: Our study found an overall low completion rate in both earlier and later cohorts. Additionally, higher BMI and African-American and Hispanic race/ethnicity were associated with low vaccine completion.