El propósito de este informe especial es describir cronológicamente los eventos que contribuyeron al desarrollo y aprobación de la legislación e implementación del requisito escolar de vacunación en Puerto Rico (PR), con el fin de prevenir el VPH y los cánceres asociados a este. A partir del 2010, PR inició las aprobaciones de políticas públicas con el objetivo de mejorar el registro de casos de los cánceres y la cobertura de la vacuna contra el VPH a través de los planes médicos en adolescentes de 11 a 18 años. En el 2014, los esfuerzos científicos y comunitarios lograron documentar la magnitud de las enfermedades causadas por el VPH, y desarrollar en conjunto, estrategias de prevención y promoción de la vacuna contra el VPH. En agosto de 2018, PR logró ser uno de los primeros cuatro territorios de los Estados Unidos de América en implementar la vacuna contra el VPH como requisito escolar con el fin de disminuir la incidencia de cánceres asociados al VPH en la isla. En el 2019 se garantizó por ley que todo proveedor de vacunación debe reportar al Registro de Inmunización. El caso de PR demuestra que el desarrollo de políticas públicas junto con colaboraciones entre coaliciones académicas, científicas y comunitarias, logran cambios poblacionales y resultados medibles dirigidos a la prevención de VPH. Países con una problemática de salud pública similar podrían adoptar esfuerzos similares a los presentados, y alinearlos al objetivo de la Organización Mundial de la Salud: erradicación del cáncer cervical para 2030.
Background In August 2018, Puerto Rico (PR) became the 4th state or territory in the United States to adopt a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine school-entry requirement, for students 11–12 years old. Evidence suggests that the content of media coverage may impact people’s perception of HPV vaccine and their willingness to vaccinate. This study aimed to analyze the content of digital news coverage related to the implementation of the policy in PR. Methods A content review was conducted of digital media published from January 2017 through December 2018. The content reviewed was carried out in two steps: 1) creating a matrix to summarize each article’s content about the policy and 2) qualitative analysis using a grounded theory approach. Results The search resulted in 34 articles obtained from 17 online local and international news outlets that reported the policy's implementation. Analyses showed that 61% of the news articles did not mention the number of required doses, and 79% discussed the new policy concerning cancer prevention. In 2017, news coverage focused mostly on describing the policy, while 2018 coverage focused on controversies surrounding the implementation. Neutral emergent codes included: 1) Description of the policy; 2) Information about HPV related cancers; and 3) General information about HPV vaccine. Negative emergent codes included: 1) infringement to patient and parental autonomy; 2) Hesitancy from the political sector, and 3) Hesitancy from groups and coalitions. Positive content included: 1) knowledge and acceptance of HPV vaccine for cancer prevention; 2) importance of education and protective sexual behaviors; and 3) new vaccination law proposal. Conclusions Most of the media coverage in PR was neutral and included limited information related to the vaccine, HPV, and HPV-related cancers. Neutral and negative themes could influence public concerns regarding the new policy, as well as HPV vaccination rates in PR.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, Puerto Rico (PR) had one of the highest Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine rates in the United States. The COVID pandemic and administration of COVID vaccines might have impacted attitudes toward HPV vaccination. This study compared attitudes toward HPV and COVID vaccines with respect to school-entry policies among adults living in PR. A convenience sample of 222 adults (≥21 years old) completed an online survey from November 2021 to January 2022. Participants answered questions about HPV and COVID vaccines, attitudes toward vaccination policies for school-entry, and perceptions of sources of information. We assessed the magnitude of association between the agreement of school-entry policies for COVID and HPV vaccination by estimating the prevalence ratio (PR adjusted ) with 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI). The most trusted source of information for HPV and COVID vaccines were healthcare providers (42% and 17%, respectively) and the CDC (35% and 55%, respectively), while the least trusted were social media (40% and 39%, respectively), and friends and family (23% n = 47, and 17% n = 33, respectively). Most participants agreed that HPV (76% n = 156) and COVID vaccines (69% n = 136) should be a school-entry requirement. Agreement with school policy requiring COVID vaccination was significantly associated with agreement of school policy requiring HPV vaccination (PR adjusted :1.96; 95% CI:1.48–2.61) after controlling for potential confounders. Adults living in PR have an overall positive attitude about mandatory HPV and COVID vaccination school-entry policies, which are interrelated. Further research should elucidate the implications of the COVID pandemic on HPV vaccine attitudes and adherence rates.
Background Knowledge about epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of anal neoplasia is limited among medical students and physicians from Puerto Rico (PR). Methods: Educational activity (1.5 contact hours) about anal cancer for a group of medical students, residents and faculty from the University of PR (n = 50). A 6-item pre- and post-test on anal cancer was given to assess the change in knowledge. Results: Thirty-four participants (68%) answered the survey. Overall, 78.8% had not received training in anal cancer screening and 93.9% were interested in receiving this training. Most (75.8%) were interested in participating in a clinical trial. An increase in the test scores was observed after the activity (pre-test: 3.4 ± 1.2; post-test: 4.7 ± 0.71). Three items showed an increment in the post-test that assessed participants’ knowledge regarding: (1) current status of guidelines for the screening/treatment of patients with HPV-related anal disease; (2) that anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) 2 is considered to be a form of high-grade AIN (HGAIN); and (3) that warty growths in the anus are not necessarily a manifestation of HGAIN. Conclusions: This educational activity increased the participants’ knowledge of anal cancer and revealed that most of them were interested in future training and in collaborating in clinical trials. Training physicians from PR on anal cancer and clinical trials is essential to encourage recruitment of Hispanic patients in these studies now that the guidelines in anal cancer screening and treatment are on their way to being defined.
In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean region, among them the US territory of Puerto Rico (PR). Vaccination distribution and uptake suffered from the impact. This study evaluated the trends in monthly vaccination initiation rates for human papilloma virus (HPV), Tdap and meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) adolescent vaccines from 2015 to 2019, during which it was possible to observe and analyze the impact of Hurricane Maria on vaccine initiation. Monthly initiation rates were estimated. Age-standardized initiation rate ratio (SRR) and 95% CI were estimated. The analysis included 85,340 adolescents; 52.3% were male, and 47.7% were females. September 2017 showed HPV vaccine initiation had the lower rates of all the studied vaccines, with a rate of 75% after the disaster (from a rate of almost 90% in July 2017). Tdap and MenACWY vaccines rates remained above 90% in the same period. The SRR of HPV vaccine for September and October 2017 showed an estimated reduction of 5% and 8% in vaccine initiation rates, respectively for each month, when 2016 was the reference year ( p > .05). The SRR of Tdap and MenACWY vaccines for November 2017 showed significant reductions when 2015 and 2016 were reference years ( p < .05). HPV vaccine initiation rate was the most severely affected by the Hurricane Maria. Post-natural disaster protocols should strengthen existing programs for facilitate immunization access.
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