Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experience
Introduction: Cervical cancer has a high disease burden in Singapore, and it is strongly associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. Despite constant efforts to encourage vaccination, local HPV vaccine uptake remains low. Universal mass vaccination is a proven cost-effective method to red...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wolters Kluwer – Medknow Publications
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | Singapore Medical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.lww.com/10.11622/smedj.2022053 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823861421395410944 |
|---|---|
| author | Karuppiah Vijayalakshmi Anne Hui Yi Goei |
| author_facet | Karuppiah Vijayalakshmi Anne Hui Yi Goei |
| author_sort | Karuppiah Vijayalakshmi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction:
Cervical cancer has a high disease burden in Singapore, and it is strongly associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. Despite constant efforts to encourage vaccination, local HPV vaccine uptake remains low. Universal mass vaccination is a proven cost-effective method to reduce the cervical cancer disease burden. This paper reviews the newly implemented school-based HPV vaccination programme in Singapore and the factors that led to its success.
Methods:
Fully subsidised HPV vaccinations were offered to all Secondary 1 female students on an opt-in basis, starting as a rollout dose in 2019. One-time catchup vaccination was also offered to female students in Secondary 2–5. Eligible recipients were identified using enrolment data provided by Ministry of Education schools. A total of 19,144 students across 139 schools were offered the rollout dose, and 20,854 students across 140 schools were offered the catchup doses.
Results:
High vaccine uptake rates of 80.6%–87.3% were noted with the introduction of the school-based programme, translating to high vaccine coverage of 90.3%–93.4%. Only a small proportion of students (1.5%–1.9% per cohort) opted out. The rate of reported side effects, which were commonly known effects, was low at one in 1000. Among the students who reported side effects, those who received the second vaccine dose did so uneventfully.
Conclusion:
High HPV vaccine coverage was achieved after implementation of the school-based immunisation programme. Timely assessment of knowledge lapses and targeted intervention, strong partnerships with stakeholders, constant on-site adaptation and positive social influence contributed to its success. This model can be applied to future school health programmes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9eed5d998cd5470bb42a09bb482fbf21 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0037-5675 2737-5935 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer – Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Singapore Medical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-9eed5d998cd5470bb42a09bb482fbf212025-02-09T13:47:13ZengWolters Kluwer – Medknow PublicationsSingapore Medical Journal0037-56752737-59352023-05-0164529430110.11622/smedj.2022053Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experienceKaruppiah VijayalakshmiAnne Hui Yi GoeiIntroduction: Cervical cancer has a high disease burden in Singapore, and it is strongly associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. Despite constant efforts to encourage vaccination, local HPV vaccine uptake remains low. Universal mass vaccination is a proven cost-effective method to reduce the cervical cancer disease burden. This paper reviews the newly implemented school-based HPV vaccination programme in Singapore and the factors that led to its success. Methods: Fully subsidised HPV vaccinations were offered to all Secondary 1 female students on an opt-in basis, starting as a rollout dose in 2019. One-time catchup vaccination was also offered to female students in Secondary 2–5. Eligible recipients were identified using enrolment data provided by Ministry of Education schools. A total of 19,144 students across 139 schools were offered the rollout dose, and 20,854 students across 140 schools were offered the catchup doses. Results: High vaccine uptake rates of 80.6%–87.3% were noted with the introduction of the school-based programme, translating to high vaccine coverage of 90.3%–93.4%. Only a small proportion of students (1.5%–1.9% per cohort) opted out. The rate of reported side effects, which were commonly known effects, was low at one in 1000. Among the students who reported side effects, those who received the second vaccine dose did so uneventfully. Conclusion: High HPV vaccine coverage was achieved after implementation of the school-based immunisation programme. Timely assessment of knowledge lapses and targeted intervention, strong partnerships with stakeholders, constant on-site adaptation and positive social influence contributed to its success. This model can be applied to future school health programmes.https://journals.lww.com/10.11622/smedj.2022053cervical cancerhpvimmunisationschool-basedsingapore |
| spellingShingle | Karuppiah Vijayalakshmi Anne Hui Yi Goei Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experience Singapore Medical Journal cervical cancer hpv immunisation school-based singapore |
| title | Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experience |
| title_full | Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experience |
| title_fullStr | Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experience |
| title_short | Improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school-based vaccination programme: the Singapore experience |
| title_sort | improved population coverage of the human papillomavirus vaccine after implementation of a school based vaccination programme the singapore experience |
| topic | cervical cancer hpv immunisation school-based singapore |
| url | https://journals.lww.com/10.11622/smedj.2022053 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karuppiahvijayalakshmi improvedpopulationcoverageofthehumanpapillomavirusvaccineafterimplementationofaschoolbasedvaccinationprogrammethesingaporeexperience AT annehuiyigoei improvedpopulationcoverageofthehumanpapillomavirusvaccineafterimplementationofaschoolbasedvaccinationprogrammethesingaporeexperience |