Survey of physician attitudes on HPV vaccination in Pediatrics

The December 6 issue of the journal Pediatrics includes an interesting paper titled, "A National Survey of Pediatrician Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Human Papillomavirus Vaccination." (Vol. 118 No. 6 December 2006, pp. 2280-2289 -- free abstract, subscription required for full text. The survey was conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver, Children's Hospital in Denver, and the CDC.

A national sample of 431 physicians was surveyed "to determine physician characteristics, knowledge, and attitudes associated with an intention to recommend human papillomavirus vaccination," quoting from the abstract. Among the reported results:

"46% of respondents would recommend vaccination for 10- to 12-year-old females, 77% for 13- to 15-year-old females, and 89% for 16- to 18-year-old females. Corresponding rates for males were 37%, 67%, and 82%, respectively. Whereas 60% of respondents thought that parents would be concerned that human papillomavirus vaccination may encourage risky sexual behaviors, 11% reported that they themselves had this concern."

The main issue complicating attempts to assess the value of this data is that the survey in question occurred between August and October of 2005, long before HPV vaccines entered the public spotlight (and likely well before many practicing pediatricians gave the vaccine serious thought). There's no way to know what impact the events of the last six months (particularly the significant public support that seems to exist in favor of vaccination) has had on physician attitudes. Still, the paper is a helpful contribution to vaccine implementation efforts.