Human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in adolescents with developmental disabilities

Background: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is offered in Australia to all males and females at 12 to 13 years. In 2015 the national HPV coverage was 77.4% for females and 66.4% for males. There is no Australian coverage data for the subgroup of adolescents with disabilities. Method: We reviewed the HPV vaccine status of all 14 year-old adolescents who attended a developmental medicine clinic in a tertiary hospital in Melbourne during 2014. Motor function and intellectual impairment were also recorded. Results: Of the 72 adolescents in the audit, only 39.5% of males and 44.1% of females were fully immunised against HPV. Those with intellectual impairment had particularly low levels of HPV immunisation (16/47 (34%)). Conclusion: In this study HPV vaccine coverage in adolescents with developmental disabilities was found to be well below national levels. Larger studies of HPV uptake and exploration of the barriers to immunisation in this population are urgently needed.