142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Addressing Barriers to HPV Vaccination Implementation: Model and Tools of Effective Advocacy for Children

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 1:10 PM - 1:30 PM

Juliet Guichon, BA, BA (Hons. Juris.), BCL, MA, SJD , Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary Canada T2N 4N1, AB, Canada
Ian Mitchell, MB, ChB. MA, DCH, MRCP (UK), FRCPC, FCCP, FAAP , Pediatrics, Alberta Children's Hospital and University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
When the Canadian Federal Government allocated $300 million for routine in-school human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine administration for girls, Roman Catholic bishops opposed in-school vaccine administration because “a school-based approach to vaccination sends a message that early sexual intercourse is allowed, as long as one uses ‘protection.’”  In 2008, twelve publicly-funded school districts in a total of two provinces and one territory banned the HPV vaccine in district schools. In the largest school district, in Calgary Alberta, vaccine uptake in 2009 was 70% in local public schools and 18.9% in Catholic schools.

Overturning the bans in 12 school districts required a sustained effort over 18 months.  It entailed mobilizing the medical and health scientist communities and their data, locally, nationally and internationally; identifying and welcoming people in other fields with particular expertise; working judiciously with the media; and travelling to make formal presentations to school districts.  This session will desribe the methods and tools used, and present the highs and lows of this successful public health advocacy.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the social justice case for in-school human papillomavirus vaccination and the Canadian Federal Government’s decision to fund free vaccination for girls to be administered in schools. Describe the religious barriers created to the implementation of this policy in 12 Canadian publicly funded school districts. Name the methods and tools used in the successful bioethicist-led effort to lift the vaccine bans.

Keyword(s): Advocacy, Child Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I led this advocacy effort and worked with all other participants. I am the first author of a paper in Preventive Medicine describing our efforts in one of the 12 school districts.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4217.0: Models and Tools of Effective Advocacy: Empowering Citizens as Advocates