| Deciding on HPV Immunization in North Carolina |
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Noel T. Brewer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of
Health Behavior and
Health Education,
studies the psychology of medical
decision making. Currently, Dr. Brewer and his colleagues, including Jennifer
Smith, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, are
studying why girls and young women get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine,
the first vaccine that can prevent much of cervical cancer. Their CHIME
Project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, examines how
rural and African American parents decide to vaccinate their daughters against
HPV, why doctors stock the vaccine, and what HPV DNA types are common in North
Carolina.
Findings of this research already have helped dispel
speculations that teenage girls who are vaccinated might be more likely to
engage in risky sexual behavior because of their increased perception of
protection from HPV. Brewer reports that, "some think that young women will
somehow compensate for the HPV vaccine's protective nature by having more sex,
to the point that their overall risk for sexually transmitted diseases becomes
higher than before they were vaccinated...our findings say otherwise."
Brewer believes that these findings should free policymakers
from concerns that their constituents would oppose adopting the HPV vaccine, or
that mandating the vaccine would actually lead to more risky sexual behaviors
among adolescents. Instead, health officials should focus on ensuring HPV
vaccine utilization.
Early findings from the project have been reported to all
county health directors in North Carolina and to the North Carolina
Immunization Branch. The project findings are supporting the planning of a
13-county social marketing campaign to increase HPV vaccination among
adolescent girls.
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Last updated June 03, 2009 |
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