title: Emergency medicine physician attitudes toward HPV vaccine uptake in an emergency department setting.
abstract: A physician's recommendation is the most effective published method of motivating HPV vaccination initiation. The emergency department (ED) is the 'public health safety net', and often the only access to care for underserved populations. Recommendation of the HPV vaccine in the ED is a potential avenue to improve vaccination rates among sub-populations who do not have access to routine medical care. We assessed willingness of EM physicians to recommend the vaccine, target high-risk women, and disclose perceived barriers to vaccination in the ED. A cross sectional study using an 11-item survey, was used to assess physician attitudes toward recommending the HPV vaccine in an ED setting to age eligible patients. 67.4% stated they would recommend the vaccine, 23.9% were neutral, and 8.7% would not recommend the vaccine to age eligible patients in the ED. 41% noted lack of adequate reimbursement for vaccination as a barrier to vaccination in the ED (P<0.05). Physicians were comfortable targeting women at high risk for cervical cancer for vaccination (P<0.05). EM physicians are comfortable targeting high-risk women for HPV vaccination in an ED setting. Support of EM physicians in the national effort to improve HPV vaccine uptake is an important step in eradicating a largely preventable yet lethal cancer.
authors.affiliation: a The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Department of Emergency Medicine; School of Medicine ; Houston , TX USA.
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Glory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Okugo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010820:Physicians; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines
keywords: HPV vaccine; emergency medicine; physician attitudes; physician recommendation; young adults