On the Path to Prevention from the St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention, April 2021

The HPV Cancer Prevention Program of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital launched formally about one month ago on March 4, 2021 on International HPV Awareness Day. It is my great privilege to serve as director of this new program and increase uptake of HPV vaccination to prevent HPV cancers. Prior to and since the launch, the HPV Cancer Prevention Program team has been working to identify how the new program can make a difference by galvanizing existing successful efforts to increase HPV vaccination that may be limited by resources and reach. We know HPV vaccination is safe and effective but uptake remains less than Healthy People 2020 and 2030 goals. We have work to do, and we look forward to joining you on the path to prevention.

Each month, our program will send an email like this. We hope you will share it with others who may be interested and ask them to subscribe, too. We also want to hear from you if you have opportunities and information we can share.

HPV vaccination is cancer prevention.

On April 27, 2021, the HPV Cancer Prevention Program will host a virtual seminar, HPV Vaccination: A Look at State Policy and a Path Forward, from 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Central.

The goal of the virtual seminar is to share the results of an in-depth analysis of HPV vaccination-related policies in four states with low HPV vaccination uptake relative to the United States overall: Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. NP Strategy, a strategic communications consultancy and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexsen Pruet, LLC, analyzed the state-level policy and regulations enacted about HPV vaccinations in adolescents in these four states over the past decade. The analysis also focused on potential opportunities or challenges to future legislation or actions in these four states, but may be relevant more broadly.

The virtual seminar will include an overview of these findings, presented by Seth Palmer of NP Strategy, and a presentation on St. Jude policy interests by Rob Clark, St. Jude Chief Governmental Affairs Officer. There will also be a moderated discussion with additional key policy stakeholders, including Dr. Lisa Piercey, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health; Dr. Sarah Moreland-Russell, Washington University in St. Louis; ShaRhonda Love, Arkansas Minority Health Commission; and Kimberly Hughes, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (Mississippi).

Register here.

The virtual seminar will be recorded. All registrants will receive a link to view the recording after the seminar. Following the virtual seminar, the complete report will be publicly available and link sent to all who register.

March was women’s history month. In celebration of the contributions of women, past and present, at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Andrea Stubbs, administrative director of the HPV Cancer Prevention Program, provided her thoughts on key events that shaped her career and how these have served as guideposts for her professional journey.

Andrea wrote, “I first came to St. Jude 14 years ago and began galvanizing community members to come together and develop a prevention plan on reducing youth HIV rates and raise community awareness for the future of HIV prevention modalities… I plan to use those same skills and work experiences to help do the same for the HPV Cancer Prevention Program in my new role as the administrative director.”

Read more here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted both in-person learning and routine well-child visits for many adolescents over the last year. This has resulted in too many adolescents falling behind on receiving routinely recommended vaccines, including HPV vaccination. As of March 2021, HPV vaccination is down 20% over previous years in the public sector, which represents more than 1 million missed doses in the public sector alone. Help Kids’ Safe Return to School - Get Caught Up on Recommended Vaccines (cdc.gov) provides a “Call to Action” outlining efforts needed to get adolescents caught up on vaccinations. We all can communicate directly to families the importance of well-child visits and getting caught up on any recommended vaccines that were missed. Additional resources are available through the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable.

After about one year of virtual engagement, we decided everyone could use some new ideas to foster engagement and promote effective virtual meetings. Patrick Patterson, MSW, MPH, of Global Partnerships for Fathers and Families answered the call and delivered a highly interactive training for the HPV Cancer Prevention Program team and internal and external partners. According to Patrick, creating an environment for virtual learning includes extending grace, establishing ground rules, and bringing the excitement.

Our virtual work is likely to continue in some capacity for a while – and maybe even continue indefinitely. Feeling connected during the COVID-19 pandemic can be challenging when working with people and partners with whom we cannot meet or gather in-person.

We asked members of the HPV Cancer Prevention Program team to share their highlights from the training. Here is what they said stuck with them.

“Utilize media, including photos and videos, that are relevant to the topic and the population to help participants connect with the content.”

– Julia Neely, program coordinator

“Co-hosts are just as important as the meeting hosts. Every Batman needs a Robin.”

– Andrea Stubbs, administrative director

“Consider using small door prizes as incentives to promote engagement. This keeps your participants involved and ‘on their toes’.”

– Katie Midgley, program coordinator

“Tell your story at the beginning of the event. It personalizes the facilitator and sets the tone for others to participate when asked.”

– Carol Minor, program coordinator

“Simple activities are useful to break up the time spent online and keep participants engaged.”

– Heather Brandt, director

The training was time well spent and offered us inspiration in our virtual work. We look forward to when we have more of a blend of in-person gathering and online activities.

We have assembled national and global health observances for April 2021 that may be of interest. We hope you will join us in promoting these health observances with your networks to advocate for a healthier future.

April is National Minority Health Month, and this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) has selected the theme #VaccineReady. OMH is focusing on the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on racial and ethnic minority and American Indian and Alaska Native communities to underscore the need for these vulnerable communities to get vaccinated as more vaccines become available. Learn more here.

In the midst of the most challenging public health crisis of our lifetimes, it is more important than ever to celebrate public health. We may be physically distant from each other, but we can still find ways to connect. The 2021 theme for National Public Health Week (April 5-11) is “Building Bridges to Better Health.” Help us continue to thank public health professionals for all the hard work everyone is doing to keep our communities safe. Learn more here.

Sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), World Health Day on April 7 is an opportunity to reflect on how we can build a fairer and healthier world — one where all people are able to live healthy lives and access quality health services. Read more here.

Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week takes place April 11-17. A key message of the campaign is that early diagnosis is key to successful treatment of these types of cancers. HPV vaccination also prevents some types of oral, head, and neck cancers. Learn more by visiting the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance website.

World Immunization Week is celebrated every year in the last week of April and aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. This year’s campaign will aim to build solidarity and trust in vaccination as a public good that saves lives and protects health. Join us in honoring this awareness week (which starts on April 24) by clicking here.