Abstract
BackgroundUptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the UK is good, but there are pockets of the community who remain unprotected. Immunisation teams usually require written parental consent for a girl to receive the vaccine. Evidence suggests that uptake of the vaccine might be improved by promoting consent form return (if returned, forms are likely to grant consent). Incentivising girls to return consent forms is a promising approach to promoting consent form return. Before testing the efficacy of an incentive intervention in a randomised controlled trial (RCT), we must first establish whether the RCT is feasible. In this randomised feasibility study, we aim to establish the feasibility of conducting a cluster RCT of an adolescent incentive intervention to increase uptake of HPV vaccination.MethodsAt least six schools will be randomised to either an incentive intervention arm or a standard invitation arm. Girls in standard invitation arm schools will receive the usual HPV vaccine programme invitation materials. Girls attending schools in the incentive intervention arm will receive the standard invitation and will also be told that they will receive an incentive if they return their consent form (regardless of whether consent is granted or denied). The incentive is being entered into a prize draw to win a retail voucher. Feasibility objectives include estimating the schools’ and parents’ willingness to participate in the study and be randomised; response rates to questionnaires; the extent of missing data; the girls’ and parents’ attitudes towards the incentive offered; school staff experiences of participating, fidelity to the trial procedures, data on any unintended consequences and the possible mechanisms of action, and proof-of-concept evidence of the effect of the intervention on consent form return rates and uptake of the vaccine. Analysis of feasibility outcomes will primarily be descriptive. Consent form return rates and uptake of the vaccine will be presented by trial arm without comparison.DiscussionIncentivising HPV vaccine consent form return may promote HPV vaccine uptake. This study will provide the evidence needed to establish whether testing this incentive intervention using a RCT design in the future is feasible.Trial registrationISRCTN72136061
Highlights
Uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the UK is good, but there are pockets of the community who remain unprotected
A quadrivalent HPV vaccine is used in a UK HPV vaccination programme
Research exploring the association between socio-demographic characteristics and uptake of HPV vaccination has suggested that girls from some Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are less likely to receive HPV vaccination than girls from White British backgrounds [5, 6]
Summary
Uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the UK is good, but there are pockets of the community who remain unprotected. Research exploring the association between socio-demographic characteristics and uptake of HPV vaccination has suggested that girls from some Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are less likely to receive HPV vaccination than girls from White British backgrounds [5, 6]. This remains the case when controlling for deprivation [7]. While high uptake in the UK should offer herd protection to those who remain unvaccinated, evidence of assortivity of sexual mixing exists [8, 9] (i.e. partnerships are more likely within ethnic groups than between them). If an intervention is to be rolled out nationally, it will need to be simple and easy to implement given the increasing workload of immunisation teams (the child flu vaccine and a meningitis vaccine protecting against types A, C, W and Y vaccine have recently be added to the immunisation schedule)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
