Overview
This study will serve as one of the first to develop and test the effectiveness of strategies to promote HPV vaccination among diverse rural parents and caregivers of children ages 9-17 years in the Mountain West. Once implemented into practice, our intervention could significantly reduce disparities in the burden of HPV-associated cancers among rural populations in the United States.
The proposed study will assess the effectiveness of clinic-based outreach to increase vaccination rates for HPV at four community clinics in rural counties in Washington. The proposed study includes the following a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that will assign adult parent/caregiver participants to a timeline for receiving intervention. This study will develop best practices, implementation guides, and dissemination of findings for other clinics to implement the program on a broader scale.
Description
The clinical trial in the PREVENT study is a patient-randomized control trial (RCT) of two human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination patient reminder intervention arms that will take place in rural clinics operated by Sea Mar Community Health Centers.
The PREVENT RCT will administer a three-arm patient randomized controlled trial that will assess completion of the next needed dose of HPV vaccination and on-time completion of the multi-dose HPV vaccine series. The study arms for each trial will consist of automated reminders, automated plus live reminders, and usual care. Parents/caregivers of children and adolescents selected for the trial will be chosen using established study criteria applied to the electronic health records linked to state immunization registries. As a minimal-risk study, for the intervention only, the investigators will apply for a waiver of informed consent. The RCT will be delivered as part of standard care, and patients will be unaware they are in the trial. Delivered vaccination messages will include opt-out choices.
Parents/caregivers (P/C) of children and adolescents (C/A) will be sent any number of reminders to encourage parents to obtain an HPV vaccine for their age-eligible C/A. Reminders may include text messages, automated phone calls, mailed letters, live calls, or patient navigation. Reminders will be delivered by a vendor (automated reminders) or clinic staff (live reminders). Reminders will be delivered in English and Spanish, and interpreter services may be used for live reminders to the small proportion of patients who speak languages other than English or Spanish. The investigators will use electronic health record data to document HPV vaccination events as our primary outcome of interest. The investigators will also assess the reach for each intervention component, defined as the proportion of patients who receive a given intervention component. The investigators will also assess missed opportunities, defined as the proportion of patients who receive other recommended vaccines (e.g., Tdap or meningococcal) but not HPV, for each study arm, during the study. Aim 3 will gather patient- and provider-level qualitative data to assess reaction to the program, factors associated with implementation and long-term sustainability, and opportunities for additional clinic-based interventions. During active study recruitment, the investigators will convene a meeting of our data safety monitor board every six months. The investigators will disseminate study findings and research products in accordance with our dissemination plan. The study findings will serve as a basis for a larger multi-level trial of HPV vaccination in rural communities.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Parents/Caregivers (P/C) of children/adolescents (C/A) ages 9-17 years of age (i.e., age-eligible for HPV vaccination);
- P/C with active clinic patients (i.e., have been seen in the clinic in the last 12 months); and
- P/C who speak either English or Spanish.
Exclusion Criteria:
- P/C of C/A with previous excluding HPV vaccination history (e.g., completed vaccination, or not due);
- P/C of C/A with clinical conditions that influence the CDC HPV vaccination recommendations (e.g., pregnancy);
- P/C of C/A with other factors that would influence CDC HPV recommendations; and
- P/C that does not speak Spanish or English.