P De Wals, Universite Laval, Quebec BACKGROUND: A live-attenuated varicella-zoster virus vaccine has been demonstrated in a large randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial to prevent herpes zoster (HZ), post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) and reduce the morbidity associated with incident HZ and its sequelae. The aim of the study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of vaccination against HZ and PHN in Canada. METHODS: A decision analytic model was developed to estimate the burden of HZ and the cost-effectiveness of HZ vaccination in Canada. Canadian population-based data were used to estimate age-specific incidence , physician consultation, hospitalization and mortality rates. Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) lost were calculated using QALY weight data available in the literature. Unit costs, taken from Canadian sources, were applied to the predicted HZ-associated health care resource use. The cost-effectiveness of vaccination was estimated for various age cohorts (range: 50 to 80 years) and extensive sensitivity analyses were performed to assess uncertainty of results. RESULTS: In Canada, the annual burden related to HZ is substantial, with an estimated 130,000 episodes of HZ, 20,000 cases of PHN and 30 deaths. Most of the pain and suffering (as measured by QALY loss) is born by adults over the age of 65 years and is due to PHN. Using $20,000 per QALY gained as strong evidence for cost-effectiveness, HZ vaccination is cost-effective under a wide range of parameter assumptions and scenarios. Under base-case assumptions, the cost-effectiveness ratios for a cohort of vaccine recipients aged 65 years over a range of potential vaccine prices from $100 to $200 per dose were $11,000 to $26,000 per QALY gained. Results were most sensitive to the cost of PHN, duration of vaccine protection and the average QALY loss associated with HZ-related pain. CONCLUSION: Since both the health and economic burden of HZ and PHN are high, vaccination of the elderly is projected to be cost-effective. BACKGROUND: Public health professionals (PHPs) play a key role in immunization programs. We designed a one-day training session on HPV for PHPs for all 18 regions of the province of Quebec. OBJECTIVES: 1) To assess knowledge attitudes and beliefs on cervical cancer screening and HPV infection and vaccination; 2) To measure the change after a day-long workshop. METHODS: For each region, the director of public health, the communi-cable diseases control coordinator, and one immunization staff member (total = 54) were invited to fill out a 99-item questionnaire sent by e-mail and anonymously faxed back. The same questionnaire was completed at the end of the workshop. RESULTS: 63% PHPs responded pre-and 76% post-workshop: 65% vs 68% were women; 91% vs 94% had >10 years of professional experience. Knowledge, pre-vs post-workshop: 47% vs 87% accepted that HPV is a necessary cause for cervical cancer; 30% vs 85% that anogenital warts are not cancer precursors; 47% vs 98% that HPV 16 and 18 are responsible for more than 60% of cervi...