Objective: To examine correlates of vaccine series completion among young adolescent US girls who initiated the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
Methods: We analyzed National Immunization Survey-Teens 2012 provider-verified data to examine correlates of HPV vaccine completion among 13- to 17-year-old girls who initiated HPV vaccine in 2012 (N = 4548).
Results: The weighted vaccine series completion rate among 13- to 17-year-old girl initiators was 66.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 64.0-69.3). Adolescent girls who were older, residents of the Northeast (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.36; 95% CI, 1.07-1.73), and had provider-verified seasonal influenza vaccination in the past year (aPR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.32-2.11) and provider recommendation (aPR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.10-1.77) were more likely to complete the 3-dose vaccine series.
Conclusions: Parents of younger adolescent girls need to be educated about the importance of completing the 3-dose HPV vaccine series. Provider recommendation for the vaccine would also facilitate series completion.
Keywords: adolescent girls; correlates; human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; vaccine completion; vaccine initiation.
© The Author(s) 2015.