Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is approved for those aged 9-45 years. However, HPV vaccine uptake remains suboptimal in the United States (U.S.), particularly among young and mid-age adults. This paper describes HPV vaccine patient-clinician communication, clinician recommendation receipt, and HPV vaccine uptake among U.S. adults who were eligible for the HPV vaccine as adults. METHODS: U.S. adults up to age 45 and who were aged 18+ when the HPV vaccine was approved were recruited for an online survey (n = 1107) between February-March 2021. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess: (1) clinician-patient HPV vaccination discussions; (2) ever having received an HPV vaccine recommendation from a clinician; and (3) HPV vaccine uptake. RESULTS: Thirty-four percent of participants reported having prior HPV vaccine discussions with a clinician, 31.1 % reporting ever having received a clinician recommendation for the vaccine, and only 23.8 % reported receiving the vaccine. Receiving the HPV vaccine was positively associated with prior HPV vaccine discussions (aOR: 2.93; 95 % CI: 1.98-4.35) and ever receiving an HPV vaccine recommendation from a clinician (aOR: 10.64; 95 % CI: 7.14-15.88). Additional factors consistently associated with all three models (discussing, receiving a clinician recommendation, and vaccine uptake) include higher HPV vaccine knowledge and higher HPV vaccine embarrassment. CONCLUSIONS: Unvaccinated age-eligible adults represent a missed opportunity for HPV-related cancer prevention. Interventions to support clinicians providing care to young and mid-age adults are needed to increase clinician discussions and recommendations of the HPV vaccine and patient uptake of the HPV vaccine.