Assessing HPV Vaccine Trial Participation Among Cancer Survivors

Cancer survivors refusing participation in an HPV vaccine trial do so mainly due to vaccine related concerns, according to a study published in Cancer. Brooke Cherven, PhD, MPH, and colleagues conducted a secondary analysis of data from an open-label clinical trial assessing the safety and immunogenicity of the HPV vaccine among vaccine-naïve cancer survivors aged 9-26. Survivors/parents who declined to participate were asked their reasons for declining. Most survivors (71.4%) who refused trial participation did so for reasons related to the HPV vaccine. Safety concerns, vaccine hesitancy/disinterest, external influences, vaccine-related information deficits, and health beliefs/family decisional processes were reasons for vaccine-related refusal.
Females were more likely than males to refuse for reasons related to health beliefs/family decisional processes and were less likely to refuse due to external influences (ORs, 2.08 and 0.43, respectively). Survivors approached later in the trial were more likely to refuse due to safety concerns (OR, 3.33). “Healthcare providers, both oncologists and primary care clinicians, can potentially address many of these reasons by using evidence-based communication strategies,” Dr. Cherven and colleagues wrote.

Fewer Parents Talking to Child’s Regular Provider About Vaccines

One in seven US parents have not talked about vaccines with their child’s regular provider in the past 2 years, according to the results of a survey. Sarah Clark, MPH, and colleagues asked a national sample of 1,483 parents of children aged 6-18 about discussions with healthcare providers related to vaccines. Most parents have talked about vaccines with their child’s regular doctor in the past 2 years, most often about vaccines needed for school (82%) and less often about influenza (68%) or COVID-19 (57%) vaccines, but 15% said they did not discuss any vaccines with their child’s regular doctor. Some parents reported discussions with other health professionals, such as pharmacists or nurses, about school vaccines (4%), influenza vaccines (8%), or COVID-19 vaccines (14%). Among parents who said they talked with their child’s regular doctor about flu and/or COVID-19 vaccines, most reported positive experiences, including that the provider was open to their questions and concerns (81% for influenza; 82% for COVID-19) and offered information that was helpful in making their decision (71% for influenza; 72% for COVID-19). “These findings suggest a change in the role of the primary care provider as the ‘go-to information source’ for vaccines,” Clark and colleagues wrote.