Differences in school factors associated with adolescent HPV vaccination initiation and completion coverage in three Australian states

J. Sisnowski; C. Vujovich-Dunn; H. Gidding; J. Brotherton; H. Wand; R. Lorch; M. Veitch; V. Sheppeard; P. Effler; S. R. Skinner; A. Venn; C. Davies; J. Hocking; L. Whop; J. Leask; K. Canfell; L. Sanci; M. Smith; M. Kang; M. Temple-Smith; M. Kidd; S. Burns; L. Selvey; D. Meijer; S. Ennis; C. Thomson; N. Lane; J. Kaldor; R. Guy

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.076

Differences in school factors associated with adolescent HPV vaccination initiation and completion coverage in three Australian states

J. Sisnowski, C. Vujovich-Dunn, H. Gidding, J. Brotherton, H. Wand, R. Lorch, M. Veitch, V. Sheppeard, P. Effler, S. R. Skinner, A. Venn, C. Davies, J. Hocking, L. Whop, J. Leask, K. Canfell, L. Sanci, M. Smith, M. Kang, M. Temple-SmithM. Kidd, S. Burns, L. Selvey, D. Meijer, S. Ennis, C. Thomson, N. Lane, J. Kaldor, R. Guy

Wellbeing and Preventable Chronic Disease

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Abstract

Background: Schools are the primary setting for the delivery of adolescent HPV vaccination in Australia. Although this strategy has achieved generally high vaccination coverage, gaps persist for reasons that are mostly unknown. This study sought to identify school-level correlates of low vaccination course initiation and completion in New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia to inform initiatives to increase uptake.

Methods: Initiation was defined as the number of first doses given in a school in 2016 divided by vaccine-eligible student enrolments. Completion was the number of third doses given in a school in 2015–2016 divided by the number of first doses. Low initiation and completion were defined as coverage ≤ 25th percentile of all reporting schools. We investigated correlations between covariates using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Due to multicollinearity, we used univariable logistic regression to investigate associations between school characteristics and low coverage.

Results: Median initiation was 84.7% (IQR: 75.0%-90.4%) across 1,286 schools and median completion was 93.8% (IQR: 86.0%-97.3%) across 1,295 schools. There were strong correlations between a number of school characteristics, particularly higher Indigenous student enrolments and lower attendance, increasing remoteness, higher postcode socioeconomic disadvantage, and smaller school size. Characteristics most strongly associated with low initiation in univariate analyses were small school size, location in Tasmania, and schools catering for special educational needs. Low completion was most strongly associated with schools in Tasmania and Western Australia, remote location, small size, high proportion of Indigenous student enrolments, and low attendance rates.

Conclusion: This study provides indicative evidence that characteristics of schools and school populations are associated with the likelihood of low initiation and completion of the HPV vaccination course. The findings will guide further research and help target initiatives to improve vaccination uptake in schools with profiles associated with lower coverage.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	6117-6126
Number of pages	10
Journal	Vaccine
Volume	39
Issue number	41
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.076
Publication status	Published - Oct 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The study was conducted as part of the HPV Partnership Project (NHMRC grant number APP1132344), which was formed between researchers, the National HPV Vaccination Program Register, and the health departments of three states, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia to understand why gaps persist in the HPV vaccination school based program. Dr Sisnowski was funded by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, Dr Whop was funded by the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (#1142035), and Dr Smith was funded by NHRMC grant (APP1159491) Cancer Institute NSW.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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Sisnowski, J., Vujovich-Dunn, C., Gidding, H., Brotherton, J., Wand, H., Lorch, R., Veitch, M., Sheppeard, V., Effler, P., Skinner, S. R., Venn, A., Davies, C., Hocking, J., Whop, L., Leask, J., Canfell, K., Sanci, L., Smith, M., Kang, M., ... Guy, R. (2021). Differences in school factors associated with adolescent HPV vaccination initiation and completion coverage in three Australian states. Vaccine, 39(41), 6117-6126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.076

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title = "Differences in school factors associated with adolescent HPV vaccination initiation and completion coverage in three Australian states",

abstract = "Background: Schools are the primary setting for the delivery of adolescent HPV vaccination in Australia. Although this strategy has achieved generally high vaccination coverage, gaps persist for reasons that are mostly unknown. This study sought to identify school-level correlates of low vaccination course initiation and completion in New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia to inform initiatives to increase uptake. Methods: Initiation was defined as the number of first doses given in a school in 2016 divided by vaccine-eligible student enrolments. Completion was the number of third doses given in a school in 2015–2016 divided by the number of first doses. Low initiation and completion were defined as coverage ≤ 25th percentile of all reporting schools. We investigated correlations between covariates using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Due to multicollinearity, we used univariable logistic regression to investigate associations between school characteristics and low coverage. Results: Median initiation was 84.7% (IQR: 75.0%-90.4%) across 1,286 schools and median completion was 93.8% (IQR: 86.0%-97.3%) across 1,295 schools. There were strong correlations between a number of school characteristics, particularly higher Indigenous student enrolments and lower attendance, increasing remoteness, higher postcode socioeconomic disadvantage, and smaller school size. Characteristics most strongly associated with low initiation in univariate analyses were small school size, location in Tasmania, and schools catering for special educational needs. Low completion was most strongly associated with schools in Tasmania and Western Australia, remote location, small size, high proportion of Indigenous student enrolments, and low attendance rates. Conclusion: This study provides indicative evidence that characteristics of schools and school populations are associated with the likelihood of low initiation and completion of the HPV vaccination course. The findings will guide further research and help target initiatives to improve vaccination uptake in schools with profiles associated with lower coverage.",

keywords = "Cervical cancer, Health equity, HPV vaccines, Immunisation programs, Primary prevention, School",

author = "J. Sisnowski and C. Vujovich-Dunn and H. Gidding and J. Brotherton and H. Wand and R. Lorch and M. Veitch and V. Sheppeard and P. Effler and Skinner, {S. R.} and A. Venn and C. Davies and J. Hocking and L. Whop and J. Leask and K. Canfell and L. Sanci and M. Smith and M. Kang and M. Temple-Smith and M. Kidd and S. Burns and L. Selvey and D. Meijer and S. Ennis and C. Thomson and N. Lane and J. Kaldor and R. Guy",

note = "Funding Information: The study was conducted as part of the HPV Partnership Project (NHMRC grant number APP1132344), which was formed between researchers, the National HPV Vaccination Program Register, and the health departments of three states, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia to understand why gaps persist in the HPV vaccination school based program. Dr Sisnowski was funded by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, Dr Whop was funded by the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (#1142035), and Dr Smith was funded by NHRMC grant (APP1159491) Cancer Institute NSW. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.076",

language = "English",

volume = "39",

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journal = "Vaccine",

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Sisnowski, J, Vujovich-Dunn, C, Gidding, H, Brotherton, J, Wand, H, Lorch, R, Veitch, M, Sheppeard, V, Effler, P, Skinner, SR, Venn, A, Davies, C, Hocking, J, Whop, L, Leask, J, Canfell, K, Sanci, L, Smith, M, Kang, M, Temple-Smith, M, Kidd, M, Burns, S, Selvey, L, Meijer, D, Ennis, S, Thomson, C, Lane, N, Kaldor, J & Guy, R 2021, 'Differences in school factors associated with adolescent HPV vaccination initiation and completion coverage in three Australian states', Vaccine, vol. 39, no. 41, pp. 6117-6126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.076

TY - JOUR

T1 - Differences in school factors associated with adolescent HPV vaccination initiation and completion coverage in three Australian states

AU - Sisnowski, J.

AU - Vujovich-Dunn, C.

AU - Gidding, H.

AU - Brotherton, J.

AU - Wand, H.

AU - Lorch, R.

AU - Veitch, M.

AU - Sheppeard, V.

AU - Effler, P.

AU - Skinner, S. R.

AU - Venn, A.

AU - Davies, C.

AU - Hocking, J.

AU - Whop, L.

AU - Leask, J.

AU - Canfell, K.

AU - Sanci, L.

AU - Smith, M.

AU - Kang, M.

AU - Temple-Smith, M.

AU - Kidd, M.

AU - Burns, S.

AU - Selvey, L.

AU - Meijer, D.

AU - Ennis, S.

AU - Thomson, C.

AU - Lane, N.

AU - Kaldor, J.

AU - Guy, R.

N1 - Funding Information: The study was conducted as part of the HPV Partnership Project (NHMRC grant number APP1132344), which was formed between researchers, the National HPV Vaccination Program Register, and the health departments of three states, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia to understand why gaps persist in the HPV vaccination school based program. Dr Sisnowski was funded by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, Dr Whop was funded by the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (#1142035), and Dr Smith was funded by NHRMC grant (APP1159491) Cancer Institute NSW. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - Background: Schools are the primary setting for the delivery of adolescent HPV vaccination in Australia. Although this strategy has achieved generally high vaccination coverage, gaps persist for reasons that are mostly unknown. This study sought to identify school-level correlates of low vaccination course initiation and completion in New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia to inform initiatives to increase uptake. Methods: Initiation was defined as the number of first doses given in a school in 2016 divided by vaccine-eligible student enrolments. Completion was the number of third doses given in a school in 2015–2016 divided by the number of first doses. Low initiation and completion were defined as coverage ≤ 25th percentile of all reporting schools. We investigated correlations between covariates using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Due to multicollinearity, we used univariable logistic regression to investigate associations between school characteristics and low coverage. Results: Median initiation was 84.7% (IQR: 75.0%-90.4%) across 1,286 schools and median completion was 93.8% (IQR: 86.0%-97.3%) across 1,295 schools. There were strong correlations between a number of school characteristics, particularly higher Indigenous student enrolments and lower attendance, increasing remoteness, higher postcode socioeconomic disadvantage, and smaller school size. Characteristics most strongly associated with low initiation in univariate analyses were small school size, location in Tasmania, and schools catering for special educational needs. Low completion was most strongly associated with schools in Tasmania and Western Australia, remote location, small size, high proportion of Indigenous student enrolments, and low attendance rates. Conclusion: This study provides indicative evidence that characteristics of schools and school populations are associated with the likelihood of low initiation and completion of the HPV vaccination course. The findings will guide further research and help target initiatives to improve vaccination uptake in schools with profiles associated with lower coverage.

AB - Background: Schools are the primary setting for the delivery of adolescent HPV vaccination in Australia. Although this strategy has achieved generally high vaccination coverage, gaps persist for reasons that are mostly unknown. This study sought to identify school-level correlates of low vaccination course initiation and completion in New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia to inform initiatives to increase uptake. Methods: Initiation was defined as the number of first doses given in a school in 2016 divided by vaccine-eligible student enrolments. Completion was the number of third doses given in a school in 2015–2016 divided by the number of first doses. Low initiation and completion were defined as coverage ≤ 25th percentile of all reporting schools. We investigated correlations between covariates using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Due to multicollinearity, we used univariable logistic regression to investigate associations between school characteristics and low coverage. Results: Median initiation was 84.7% (IQR: 75.0%-90.4%) across 1,286 schools and median completion was 93.8% (IQR: 86.0%-97.3%) across 1,295 schools. There were strong correlations between a number of school characteristics, particularly higher Indigenous student enrolments and lower attendance, increasing remoteness, higher postcode socioeconomic disadvantage, and smaller school size. Characteristics most strongly associated with low initiation in univariate analyses were small school size, location in Tasmania, and schools catering for special educational needs. Low completion was most strongly associated with schools in Tasmania and Western Australia, remote location, small size, high proportion of Indigenous student enrolments, and low attendance rates. Conclusion: This study provides indicative evidence that characteristics of schools and school populations are associated with the likelihood of low initiation and completion of the HPV vaccination course. The findings will guide further research and help target initiatives to improve vaccination uptake in schools with profiles associated with lower coverage.

KW - Cervical cancer

KW - Health equity

KW - HPV vaccines

KW - Immunisation programs

KW - Primary prevention

KW - School

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DO - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.076

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SN - 0264-410X

VL - 39

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JO - Vaccine

JF - Vaccine

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ER -

Differences in school factors associated with adolescent HPV vaccination initiation and completion coverage in three Australian states

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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