Back to School HPV ECHO
About the campaign
The American Cancer Society received funding in 2020 for a project titled “Mountain West HPV Project – An ACS | NCI CCC Partnership Model to Reduce Geographic Disparities in HPV Vaccination Rates for Adolescents Living in Rural States”. The states included in this work are Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming; states that are experiencing multiple disparities, notably geographic and gender gaps, in HPV vaccination rates. The Center for Health Outcomes and Population Equity (HOPE) at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is a partner on this 3-year grant project.
This partnership uses a health equity lens to implement disparity-reducing interventions by leveraging health information technology, Project ECHO, and a regional consortium convening stakeholders to network and share best practices related to HPV vaccination in demographically similar states.
Why back to school?
Back to school is a great time to make a push to vaccinate adolescents with the HPV vaccine. Often, children and their parents will make it a point to schedule a visit for a well child exam and to receive immunizations that they are due for. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these well child visits and vaccinations were significantly reduced. This means that many children may be overdue for vaccinations, including the HPV vaccine.
This back to school season is an opportunity to prepare your clinic to address a significant decrease in adolescent vaccine uptake, and to avoid the potential for vaccine-preventable diseases.
About the ECHO series
ECHO sessions will take place in real-time utilizing the interactive videoconferencing application, Zoom. The ECHO series consists of five sessions lasting one hour each:
June 23, 2021: Effect of COVID-19 on HPV Vaccination and Why Now is the Perfect Time to Address HPV Vaccination
June 30, 2021: Using Health Information Technology and Communication Efforts to get Patients to Start and Continue Their Vaccinations
July 7, 2021: Emphasizing Cancer Prevention in Clinical Interactions
July 14, 2021: Early Bird Gets the Worm: How Moving to Vaccinate at Age 9 Can Revolutionize Cancer Prevention
July 21, 2021: Moving the HPV Vaccination Needle Through This Project and Subsequent Quality Improvement
Resources
Our Experts
Deanna Kepka, PHD, MPH
Investigator at the Huntsman Cancer Institute
Associate Professor at the College of Nursing at the University of Utah
Debbie Saslow, PhD
Managing Director, Cancer Control Interventions-HPV/GYN Cancers
