Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Policy in the United States

Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
By the end of the presentation participants will be able to understand state HPV immunization policy rate of vaccine “innovation” adoption and factors associated with an empirical need for vaccine adoption and majority adoption.

Background:
The FDA licensed the first Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine for females ages 9 to 26 years in June 2006 to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts associated with HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18.

Setting:
Since this time, states have debated HPV vaccine policy: 1) if the HPV vaccine should be mandated for 6th grade girls in accordance with the ACIP recommendations and 2) should additional funding for the HPV vaccine be provided.

Population:
state level population

Project Description:
This study examined HPV vaccine school entry mandates and vaccine funding by state using the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory. The DOI was applied to the HPV immunization strategy to evaluate the rate of vaccine “innovation” adoption and determine whether associations existed between an empirical need for vaccine adoption and majority adoption. State-level data on political characteristics, health characteristics, and policy were collected from several secondary sources. Data analyses were preformed utilizing SPSS logistic regression models. Odds ratios used to evaluate the associations between the independent and dependant variables had a statistical significance level of 0.05.

Results/Lessons Learned:
In this analysis, gubernatorial party affiliation, state legislature majority state, the rate of uninsured women, Pap screening rate, and overall state health score were not associated with HPV vaccine school entry mandates or HPV vaccine funding. However, cervical cancer incidence was significantly associated with HPV school entry mandates (proposed or enacted), while it did not show a significant association with HPV vaccine funding. Diffusion of the vaccine innovation is slow, which may offer an opportunity to evaluate good policy strategies for the HPV vaccine.