A systematic literature review of human papillomavirus vaccination strategies in delivery systems within national and regional immunization programs

ABSTRACT

The uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine remains suboptimal despite being a part of routine vaccination within national immunization program(s). This indicates probable challenges with the implementation of HPV immunization program(s) in various countries. The objective of this systematic literature review (SLR) was to identify implementation strategies for HPV vaccination within national and regional immunization programs worldwide with an aim to provide guidance for countries targeting to increase their HPV vaccine coverage rate (VCR). A comprehensive literature search was conducted across Medline and Embase and included articles published between January 2012 and January 2022. Of the 2,549 articles retrieved, 168 met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Strategies shown to improve HPV vaccination uptake in the reviewed literature include campaigns to increase community awareness and knowledge of HPV, health care provider trainings, integrating HPV vaccination within school settings, coordinated efforts via multi-sectoral partnerships, and vaccination reminder and recall systems. Findings may help national authorities understand key considerations for HPV vaccination when designing and implementing programs aiming to increase HPV VCR in adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• Human papillomavirus
• HPV, NIP, HPV vaccine
• HPV strategies
• national immunization program
• regional vaccination program
• vaccine strategies

Acknowledgments

Editorial support was provided by Preetinder Kaur of Synchrogenix, a Certara Company, under the direction of the authors following Good Publication Practice guidelines (Ann Intern Med 2022;175:1298–1304) and was funded by Merck & Co Inc.

Disclosure statement

Meheret Shumet, Marisa Felsher, Ya-Ting Chen, and Cristinela Velicu reports financial support was provided by Merck & Co Inc. Meheret Shumet reports a relationship with Merck & Co Inc that includes employment. Marisa Felsher, Ya-Ting Chen, and Cristinela Velicu reports a relationship with Merck & Co Inc that includes employment and equity or stocks. Izabela Pieniążek, Magdalena Marzec, Kinga Nowicka, Gabriela Skowronek reports financial support was provided by Arcana Institute, a Certara Company, Cracow office Poland. Izabela Pieniążek, Magdalena Marzec, Gabriela Skowronek reports a relationship with Arcana Institute, a Certara Company, Cracow office Poland that includes employment and equity or stocks. Kinga Nowicka reports a relationship with Arcana Institute, a Certara Company, Cracow office Poland that includes employment.

Authors’ contribution

MF, YC, IP, MM, and KN conceptualized the study and designed the study methodology; MM, KN, GS contributed to data collection. MM, KN, and GS led data collection; MAF, YC, MS, CV, IP, MM, KN, GS contributed to data analysis and IP, MM, KN, GS contributed to data validation. MF and IP contributed to study supervision. MF and IP contributed to project administration. All coauthors contributed to manuscript drafting, reviewing it critically for intellectual content, and editing. All authors approved the final version of the report and all authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website at https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2024.2319426.

Additional information

Funding

Employees of Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of Merck & Co (Rahway, NJ, USA), the sponsor and funder of the study, were involved in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.