Increasing HPV Education and Vaccination of Preteens in a Medically Underserved Neighborhood

A Middle School-Based Approach

  • Derek Pyland University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  • Elissabeth Martin University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  • Kathryn Neill, PharmD University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  • Lanita White, PharmD University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Keywords: Human papilloma virus, Student-run clinic, Schools, Vaccination

Abstract

The United States of America is failing to achieve widespread human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage despite evidence that shows the vaccine can prevent HPV related disease, including greater than 80 percent of cervical cancers. Internationally, school based vaccination programs have proven to lead to the highest vaccination rates. In an effort to increase rates in one of Arkansas’s most underserved communities, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 12th Street Health and Wellness Center formed a partnership with the Little Rock School District to provide the Gardasil 9 vaccination series to 11-12-year-old students free of charge in their middle school. Student-run free health clinics can help increase local HPV vaccination rates by utilizing existing government resources to provide free vaccines to medically underserved children. Our goal in publishing this report is to provide the steps necessary to design and implement similar school-based vaccination programs to replicate this partnership across the nation.

Published
2017-06-11
How to Cite
Pyland, D., Martin, E., Neill, K., & White, L. (2017). Increasing HPV Education and Vaccination of Preteens in a Medically Underserved Neighborhood. Journal of Student-Run Clinics, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.59586/jsrc.v3i1.50
Section
Descriptive Report

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