Vaccination against human papillomavirus in Brazilian schoolchildren: National Survey of School Health, 2019

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the prevalence of schoolchildren vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) and the reasons related to non-vaccination. Method: cross-sectional study, with data from the 2019 National Survey of School Health. The sample consisted of 160,721 students aged 13 to 17 years. The prevalence and confidence intervals (95%CI) of vaccinated adolescents were estimated according to location, sex, and administrative dependence of the school. The differences between the strata were evaluated with the Chi-square test. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95%CI were estimated with the Poisson regression model. Results: most of the students were vaccinated (62.9%), and the prevalence of girls (76.1%) was higher than that of boys (49.1%). The most prevalent reason for not vaccinating was “did not know they had to take” (46.8%), with the highest aPR in public schoolchildren in Brazil (1.6; 95%CI 1.5;1.7), from the Northeast region (1.2; 95%CI 1.1;1.2), and in students from private schools in the Northeast regions (1.1; 95%CI 1.1;1.2) and North (1.3; 95%CI 1.2;1.4). Conclusion: one out of every two Brazilian schoolchildren was vaccinated against HPV. Misinformation was a recurring reason for non-vaccination. The North and Northeast regions had the highest prevalence of non-vaccinated people, observed mainly in adolescents from public schools.

Current HPV Vaccination Strategies in Brazil

“…The authors even noticed a three higher vaccination coverage when compared to the rates registered by the public service in the previous year (when it was already carried out in health centers). The increase in coverage observed in the months the study was carried out indicates the success of school vaccination [20].…”

“…However, there was a migration to health units, and later there was a significant drop in the coverage rate. Silva et al [20] demonstrated adequate coverage when proposing to vaccinate young people in schools. The authors even noticed a three higher vaccination coverage when compared to the rates registered by the public service in the previous year (when it was already carried out in health centers).…”