ABSTRACT: Despite recommendations for routine vaccination, HPV vaccination rates among adolescent females have remained low. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to determine whether clinician intention to recommend HPV vaccines predicts HPV vaccine series…

PolicyLab's Alex Fiks wrote this Issue Brief for Penn's Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.   The Issue Brief examines some of the barriers to HPV vaccination and summarizes a successful, multipronged clinical intervention to improve vaccination rates.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate pediatric primary care provider (PCP) HIV screening practices, knowledge, and attitudes. STUDY DESIGN: Anonymous cross-sectional, internet-based survey of pediatric PCPs from 29 primary care practices. Survey items assessed current HIV screening…

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to identify adolescent preferences for emergency department (ED)-based education about emergency contraception. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional computerized survey, using adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA). Patients were eligible if they were females…

Youth living with HIV/AIDS (YLH) face unique challenges to optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Accurate, real-time methods to assess adherence are needed to facilitate early intervention and promote viral suppression. The purpose of this study was to assess the…

OBJECTIVE: To improve human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates, we studied the effectiveness of targeting automated decision support to families, clinicians, or both. METHODS: Twenty-two primary care practices were cluster-randomized to receive a 3-part clinician-focused…

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess urban adolescents' knowledge of and attitudes about emergency contraception (EC) and to assess the intention to use EC in particular hypothetical situations. We hypothesized that knowledge about EC would be limited, but that adolescents would…

OBJECTIVE: We sought to characterize how a group of urban adolescent females understands the domains of pregnancy, contraception, and emergency contraception (EC). Design: We used the research strategy of freelisting as part of an in-depth interview study. Setting and Participants:…

DESCRIPTION: After HIV diagnosis, timely entry into HIV medical care and retention in that care are essential to the provision of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). Adherence to ART is among the key determinants of successful HIV treatment outcome and is essential to minimize the…

BACKGROUND: For youth living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), nonadherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can lead to poor health outcomes and significantly decreased life expectancy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasability,…