Community Pharmacists Vaccinate Against Cancer

Overview

Latino and African American populations have a higher rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine initiation; however, they have a significantly less likelihood of completing the vaccine series. Pharmacists are licensed to vaccinate against the HPV virus. However, they are less likely to administer the vaccine. Although past research has recommended incorporating pharmacists to increase adolescent vaccination, no intervention studies, to our knowledge, have tested a healthcare delivery model that incorporates pharmacists to complete the HPV vaccine series. The aims of this pilot randomized controlled trial are to 1) determine the preliminary efficacy of an intervention to increase HPV vaccine series completion with the community pharmacist vs. with the primary care provider among racially/ethnically diverse participants, and 2) assess perceived intervention feasibility and acceptability of the intervention among intervention participants and primary care clinic staff.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, and persistent infection with oncogenic HPV strains causes cancer. Commercially available 9-valent HPV vaccines offer the potential of immunity against seven oncogenic strains and the two low-risk strains that cause over 90% of genital warts. The majority of HPV-related cancers and genital warts can be prevented through the timely uptake and completion of the HPV vaccine series. However, in 2016 only 37.5% of boys and 49.5% of girls completed the HPV vaccine series, and racial/ethnic minority youth populations are least likely to complete the vaccine series. More specifically, Latino and African American populations have a higher rate of initiation of the vaccine; however, they have a significantly less likelihood of completing the vaccine series. Past research with Latino and African American populations determined the following patient-level barriers to vaccine completion: caregivers' lack of awareness to receive additional vaccine doses, lack of time to attend an additional vaccine-only primary care clinic appointment, and other structural barriers that prohibit caregivers and their children from returning to primary care clinics for additional vaccine doses. Pharmacists are licensed to vaccinate against the HPV virus. However, they are less likely to administer the vaccine. Although past research has recommended incorporating pharmacists to increase adolescent vaccination, no intervention studies, to our knowledge, have tested a healthcare delivery model that incorporates pharmacists to complete the HPV vaccine series. We propose a randomized controlled pilot study titled Community Pharmacists Vaccinate Against Cancer (CPVAC). In CPVAC, the PI will oversample for ethnic minority (particularly African American and Hispanic) HPV vaccine age-eligible children and their caregivers to take part in the study. Patients will be randomized to the Pharmacist-Administered HPV Vaccine Series Completion group or Primary Care Provider HPV Vaccine Series Completion (control) group. After enrolling in the study, primary care providers (PCPs) of patients in the Pharmacist-Administered HPV Vaccine Series Completion group will contact the patients' community pharmacy and prescribe the remaining HPV vaccine dose(s). The pharmacy will electronically update patients' files and schedule the HPV vaccine "refill" (additional doses) at the appropriate dosing schedule. The pharmacy will contact patients' caregivers when it is time to complete additional HPV vaccine dose(s). Primary Care Provider HPV Vaccine Series Completion group participants will receive usual care, returning to their PCPs to complete the additional HPV vaccine doses. The aims of this study are to 1) determine the preliminary efficacy of CPVAC to increase HPV vaccine series completion with the community pharmacist vs. with the primary care provider among racially/ethnically diverse participants, and 2) assess perceived intervention feasibility and acceptability of CPVAC among intervention participants and primary care clinic staff. Findings from this pilot study can be used to inform a larger randomized controlled trial to examine intervention effectiveness and analyze the cost-benefit of working with community pharmacies to enhance HPV vaccine completion among diverse children.