How we talk to parents about HPV vaccine is important

The way health professionals talk about the human papilloma virus vaccine can improve the chances that parents will agree to immunize their children.

That was the experience of the Florida Department of Health in Broward County during its annual back-to-school immunization campaign in August.

DOH-Broward nurses nearly doubled the number of HPV shots they gave during the 2016 campaign at Lauderhill Mall, by simply telling parents that HPV vaccine protects kids against cancer.

“When HPV becomes a part of routine vaccination and is presented as cancer prevention, parents are more apt to agree to the vaccination for their child,” DOH-Broward staff wrote in a summary on the success of the practice.

HPV vaccine is given to boys and girls starting at age 11. During the mall campaign, DOH-Broward vaccinated 1,640 children for HPV, vs. 903 in 2015, the first year it was offered. That’s an 82 percent jump. Of those, 1,256 were initial doses, 228 were second doses and 156 were third doses.

 

HPV vaccine is not required for school admission, and some parents hesitate to say yes because HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. Federal data from 2013 rank Florida among the lowest in HPV vaccinations, with 39.4 percent of females receiving one dose.

But reframing the conversation helped.

“The success of this practice was due to training immunization nurses on how to talk to parents about HPV and willingness of nurses to implement these new methods,” says

Terri Sudden, Director of Public Health Preparedness and Response. She will give a presentation on the approach at a statewide immunization conference.

The same approach helped increase HPV vaccine rates at DOH-Broward clinics, which gave 2,577 doses last year, almost triple the 869 given in 2015.

Offering HPV vaccine at DOH-Broward settings is part of a three-pronged project DOH-Broward began in 2015.

The other parts involve training medical professionals to pro-mote the vaccine routinely, and to distribute educational palm cards in the community (over 5,000 so far). The project continues this year.

Delivering a shot of immunization knowledge

Janice Lachhman (L) and Fatima Aviles (R) of DOH Immunization talk with Cherie Collins of South Florida Pediatric Partners  

The Immunization Action Coalition of Broward delivered another installment of its Immunization Training for Medical Professionals, targeting physician office personnel. It was the second such session of the year.

The half-day seminar drew 16 medical assistants, office managers and clinic workers from various pediatric and family medicine practices throughout Broward County. The coalition, staffed by Florida Department of Health in Broward County with community partners, aims to promote the increased use of vaccines, especially among children and adolescents.

During the training, speakers from DOH and the coalition covered frequently asked topics, such as best practices in Hepatitis B vaccine for children, how to use Florida SHOTS to record vaccinations, influenza, Zika virus and vaccine handling and preparation.

A highlight was a skit by coalition members Ray Ramirez (Pediatric Associates) and Janet Jones (Holy Cross Hospital) on how to engage parents who are reluctant to get their children vaccinated, with a focus on human papilloma virus (HPV) for adolescents.

The coalition also gave thank-you awards to two pediatric offices that have volunteered to let DOH scrutinize their childhood vaccination rates, so they can work to improve. Gallagher Pediatrics in Fort Lauderdale (part of Holy Cross Medical Group) and South Florida Pediatric Partners in Pompano Beach were recruited to participate by coalition Chair Samhara Estrada. She is a regional consultant for the DOH Immunization Section.

The project is called Assess the Best. The premise is that most physician offices believe they vaccinating more children than they actually do, and that if they knew the figures, they would improve their performance. In the first three months of the project, both pediatric offices raised their rates of HPV vaccinations and one raised its rate of standard childhood shots.

For information on Assess the Best, contact samhara.estrada@flhealth.gov.

Rotavirus makes anti-vaccination mother change her tune

A hallmark of sound thinking is the willingness to change one's mind in the face of new and better information.

Thus the 180-degree reversal by Chicago special-needs teacher Kristen O’Meara, 40, who was a staunch anti-vaccination advocate until she had a frightening wake-up call.

Her entire household with three small children came down with rotavirus, a potentially deadly stomach virus that can be prevented with a vaccine.

Ms. O'Meara's story unfolded in a fascinating article in the New York Post last month, by Jane Ridley, in which a mother tells why she has now had all three kids fully vaccinated.

Her change of heart sparked a series of media reports, including a thorough and thoughtful account in the Huffington Post.

Ms. O'Meara felt so strongly about her conversion the she wrote a heartfelt blog for the website of Voices for Vaccines, a non-profit group that advocates for immunization.

"Then our whole family contracted rotavirus late in the winter," O'Meara wrote. "It was a nightmare. It was horrible to see my daughters hunched over on the toilet, crying from the painful cramping that lasted a week after the acute illness. Once I realized what we all had, and that it could have been prevented with a vaccine, a spark of doubt began to grow."

Photo Courtesy of Voices for Vaccines

Medical Assistants Training -- November 16, 2016

The Coalition presents another 2016 Immunization Training for Medical Assistants and Medical Professionals.

The FREE half-day educational session is set from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16 at the FL Department of Health in Broward County, 780 SW 24 Street, Fort Lauderdale.

The training will cover a series of topics, including How to use Florida SHOTS, Flu and Flu Vaccine, the Vaccine Schedule and proper handling of vaccines.

You won't want to miss a special presentation on Hepatitis B Vaccine and Caring for Children Exposed to Hep B.

Space is limited. RSVP to kayla.fernandez@flhealth.gov.

Here's an informational flyer and registration form. See you there!

HPV Video from AAP

The American Academy of Pediatrics chapter in California has put out a very informative video on the benefits of HPV vaccine for girls and boys starting at age 11.

The presentation gives advice to doctors about how to persuade families to get the vaccine, and tells parents in clear language why the vaccine is key to protecting children against cancer caused by the human papillomavirus.

Find it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKWn0w_gYYw.

FREE Immunization Training for Medical Assistants, Medical Professionals

The Coalition presents the first 2016 Immunization Training for Medical Assistants and Medical Professionals.

The FREE half-day educational session is set from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22 at the FL Department of Health in Broward County, 780 SW 24 Street, Fort Lauderdale.

The training will cover a series of topics, including How to use Florida SHOTS, the Vaccine Schedule, Meningicoccal Vaccine and HPV Vaccine.

Don't miss a special presentation on "How Well Do You Know Your Vaccination Rates?" The Coalition believes that many physician offices do not realize how many of their patients (especially children) do not receive the recommended vaccines.

Space is limited. RSVP to jeannette.colwell@flhealth.gov.

Here's an informational flyer and registration form. See you there!

Newspaper column on HPV vaccine

Here is a very informative newspaper health column about the cancer-protection benefits of the HPV vaccine, which may be of high interest to parents, young adults and their doctors.


The column comes from Cornell University's Dr. Keith Roach of the Herald-Tribune News Service. We saw it in the Palm Beach Post earlier in March. 


http://health.heraldtribune.com/2016/03/08/hpv-vaccine-has-many-benefits/


The reader letter that provides most of the information was submitted to the column by Kristen R. Ehresmann, RN, director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention and Control at the Minnesota Department of Health.


She talks about the vaccine's safety profile and its ability to prevent cancer in women and men caused by human papilloma virus, which spreads mainly through unprotected sex.

Open letter to physicians on the meningococcal vaccine

Physicians:
The Immunization Action Coalition of Broward County is joining our national and state partners in sharing this letter, which encourages physicians to recommend a follow-up dose of meningococcal vaccine for their patients.
To see the pages larger, click on them and view and/or save to your computer. Thank you very much.