Individual, systemic and state factors associated with provider recommendation of HPV vaccination: Findings from NIS-Teen, 2020

The most important determinant of HPV vaccination uptake is healthcare provider recommendation, yet not all eligible patients receive HPV vaccination recommendations. We used data from the 2020 National Immunization Survey-Teen to determine individual, systemic, and state factors associated with provider recommendation of HPV vaccination. A total of 18,534 teens were included, with 81.4% receiving provider recommendations for HPV vaccination. HPV vaccination recommendation was higher among females compared to males (AOR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.27–1.93), teens who received a well-child exam at 11 or 12 years compared to those who did not (AOR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.61–2.74), and teens whose mothers had college, some college or at least a high school education compared to those with less than high school education. In addition to individual factors, provider recommendation of HPV vaccination was higher in hospitals (AOR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.00–2.29) and STD/school/teen clinics (AOR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.05–5.78) compared to public facilities. However, the odds of provider recommendation were lower when none of the teen’s providers ordered vaccines from the state compared to when all teen providers ordered vaccines from the state (AOR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.52–0.93). Moreover, the state’s mean prevalence of provider recommendations of HPV vaccination was 7.2% lower (Coefficient: −0.072; 95% CI: −0.107 – −0.036) in states with high religious ideology compared to those with low religious ideology. Interventions to increase provider recommendation of HPV vaccination should take a multiprong and comprehensive approach that addresses religious and systemic barriers to HPV vaccination recommendation.