Improving The Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Rate in Adolescents in a Rural Pediatric Primary Care Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project

Improving The Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Rate in Adolescents in a Rural Pediatric Primary Care Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a known infection that causes cancers and other health issues years after the initial exposure. Adolescents can receive a vaccine to help prevent these serious health problems. However, the percentage of adolescents receiving the vaccine remains low.

LOCAL PROBLEM: In a busy rural pediatric primary care clinic in East Tennessee, observations revealed a significant knowledge gap among the clinical staff regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine. The observation also showed that the clinic conducts numerous recall programs for several common medical concerns. The purpose of this project was to improve staff knowledge and increase vaccination completion rates.

METHODS: The Model for Improvement will help the project team implement this project. It helped keep the project focused during the implementation of the two interventions.

INTERVENTIONS: The interventions included an educational in-service for clinical staff, during which they completed a pre- and post-questionnaire, as well as a reminder program for patients at the clinic who were due for a second dose of the vaccine.

RESULTS: The project successfully achieved its main goals of increasing clinical staff members' knowledge about HPV and the vaccine, as well as boosting HPV vaccination rates in the clinic. A statistically significant difference was observed between the pre- and post-questionnaire scores (p < 0.001). The data showed a 6.8% increase in the HPV vaccination completion rate.

CONCLUSIONS: This project successfully implemented clinical staff education and a reminder program for the HPV vaccine in a pediatric primary care clinic. Future initiatives should include regular chart audits to identify the percentage of patients needing an HPV vaccine dose, ongoing educational sessions for staff, and a sustained reminder program. Continuing this evidence-based approach could increase the overall HPV vaccination rate in the clinic, which is essential for the health of the adolescents served