Provider Experience Recommending HPV Vaccination Before Age 11 Years

Objectives To describe health care providers' experiences recommending human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination before age 11 years as part of a multisession intervention to improve HPV vaccination coverage. Study design Between 2016 and 2018, we conducted 30-minute qualitative interviews with intervention participants approximately 1 month after intervention completion. Interviews explored participants' experiences with new strategies, including changing the age of routine recommendation. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts involved both deductive and inductive approaches. Results Twenty-six participants at 5 clinical sites were interviewed. Most were female (88%) primary care providers (46%), and worked 1.5-3.0 clinical days weekly. Many providers described initial skepticism about recommending vaccination before age 11 years, fearing that removing the HPV vaccine from the adolescent bundle with tetanus and meningitis vaccines would decrease parental acceptance. However, providers uniformly reported high parental acceptance owing to reduced stigma relating to sexual activity and the opportunity to administer fewer shots at each visit. Providers also noted that initiating vaccination earlier increased opportunities to complete the series and decreased the need for resource-intensive vaccine recall programs. Conclusions Providers had positive experiences recommending HPV vaccination before age 11 years. Routine recommendation before age 11 years may offer advantages related to fewer shots per visit, fewer missed opportunities, and reduction of parental concerns related to sexual activity.