Peer-reviewed article
Identifying HPV vaccination research priorities for the US.
Noel T Brewer, Aditi Tomar, Rebecca Perkins, Gabrille Darville-Sanders, Marcie Fisher-Borne et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study identified research priorities for increasing HPV vaccination coverage among US children aged 9-12 years. Researchers and stakeholders surveyed in two rounds ranked 38 potential research topics. The top priorities were addressing misinformation about vaccines, vaccinating children starting at age 9, and developing single-dose vaccine options. Other key priorities included improving vaccine communication, implementing system-wide approaches, and exploring alternative settings for vaccination.
Key points
- Misinformation and vaccine confidence was the top research priority, selected by 50% of respondents
- Starting HPV vaccination at age 9 years and single-dose vaccine options were jointly the second priority at 48% each
- Vaccine communication strategies and system-wide health approaches were identified as priorities by 40% and 39% of respondents respectively
- Geographic disparities and rural access to vaccination were highlighted as a priority by 37% of participants
- School mandates for HPV vaccination was also selected by 37% of respondents as a research priority
Limitations
This document identifies research priorities but does not evaluate any intervention or provide evidence of what actually works to increase HPV vaccination coverage. It reflects the opinions of stakeholders rather than empirical data on effectiveness.
Abstract
To guide researchers and funders, we sought to identify top priorities for research on increasing HPV vaccine coverage among US children ages 9-12 years. In Survey 1, 60 participants (researchers, health care professionals, and other stakeholders engaged in HPV vaccination research) viewed 57 research topics about increasing HPV vaccination coverage and provided additional topics. We integrated their suggestions into the list and condensed similar items to reach a list of 38 topics. In Survey 2, 230 participants identified their top ten research priorities. The top HPV vaccination research priorities and their corresponding themes were misinformation (chosen by 50% of respondents, from the theme of vaccine confidence), starting at age 9 years (48%, primary care), and single dose (48%, other). The top ten research priorities also included vaccine communication (40%, primary care), system-wide approach (39%, health system and payers), community settings (39%, alternative settings), immunization registries (38%, policy), geography and rurality (37%, populations), school mandates (37%, policy), and near elimination of HPV cancers (37%, other). The proportion of participants selecting topics within each theme varied between 15% for health system and payers to 32% for alternative settings. These research priorities highlight research areas likely to yield impactful strategies for increasing HPV vaccination. Focusing US HPV vaccine research on these topics can optimize resource allocation, inform evidence-based interventions, and support policymaking to enhance vaccine uptake.