HPV Vaccination in Female Children with Special Health Care Needs

Study Objective: Potential barriers between parents of children with special health needs (CSHCN) and their health care providers in regards to the patient receiving a full course of the human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization are explored in this study. Study Design: Parents of female CSHCN between ages of 9-26 years completed a questionnaire asking about personal receptivity of vaccines and potential barriers to vaccinating their child against HPV. A separate survey was completed by members of the Wisconsin and Illinois chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics about HPV vaccination practices provided to patients with special health care needs. Setting: Outpatient urban health clinic and the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin's Adolescent Medicine and Neurology clinics from January 2009-2010. Results: Seventeen parents completed the survey. Forty-seven percent of parents answered that their child's pediatrician had offered the HPV vaccine; 17% reported that their child was vaccinated against HPV. Most parents knew that HPV is a sexually transmitted infection, causes genital warts, and can cause abnormal pap smears. For the provider survey, 77 out of 130 respondents offer HPV vaccine as part of their practice and see CSHCN. Ninety percent have vaccinated CSHCN against HPV. Conclusions: This study suggests that acceptability of the HPV vaccine is high for health care providers, but acceptability in parents of CSHCN is lower than in the general population. This study raises awareness that health care providers need to be aware of the possibility that parents of CSHCN may not perceive their child as needing or being offered the HPV vaccine.