Impact of a Pharmacist Conducted Educational Program on Human Papilloma Virus Vaccination Rates in a Low Socioeconomic Population in the City of Lares, PR.

OBJECTIVE: To observe whether local vaccination rates are improved by a patient and physician education program on the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in Farmacia San José, Lares. According to the Puerto Rico Immunization Registry, the HPV vaccine is currently underutilized. METHODS: Patients within the ages of 18 and 26 years who are current patients of Farmacia San José were contacted by phone and approached in person at the pharmacy. Once contacted, patients were provided with educational materials and counseling regarding the risks and benefits of HPV vaccination. The primary outcome for this study is HPV vaccination rates at 4 months after starting the educational program. RESULTS: Only 79 of the 200 attempted patients who were candidates to receive the HPV vaccine were able to be reached by phone. Out of 79 patients, 24 reported they had previously been vaccinated against HPV. After all educational efforts, 4 patients (all insured by government) received vaccination against HPV at the pharmacy. In addition, 16 physicians near the pharmacy were contacted and visited by the pharmacist resident. The physicians agreed to receive educational information regarding the ACIP recommendations for their patients. CONCLUSION: Although the total number of HPV vaccination administered at the pharmacy during the study period was low, we found an individual patient counseling approach to be much more successful than attempting to coordinate group educational interventions.