El propósito de este informe especial es describir cronológicamente los eventos que contribuyeron al desarrollo y aprobación de la legislación e implementación del requisito escolar de vacunación en Puerto Rico (PR), con el fin de prevenir el VPH y los cánceres asociados a este. A partir del 2010, PR inició las aprobaciones de políticas públicas con el objetivo de mejorar el registro de casos de los cánceres y la cobertura de la vacuna contra el VPH a través de los planes médicos en adolescentes de 11 a 18 años. En el 2014, los esfuerzos científicos y comunitarios lograron documentar la magnitud de las enfermedades causadas por el VPH, y desarrollar en conjunto, estrategias de prevención y promoción de la vacuna contra el VPH. En agosto de 2018, PR logró ser uno de los primeros cuatro territorios de los Estados Unidos de América en implementar la vacuna contra el VPH como requisito escolar con el fin de disminuir la incidencia de cánceres asociados al VPH en la isla. En el 2019 se garantizó por ley que todo proveedor de vacunación debe reportar al Registro de Inmunización. El caso de PR demuestra que el desarrollo de políticas públicas junto con colaboraciones entre coaliciones académicas, científicas y comunitarias, logran cambios poblacionales y resultados medibles dirigidos a la prevención de VPH. Países con una problemática de salud pública similar podrían adoptar esfuerzos similares a los presentados, y alinearlos al objetivo de la Organización Mundial de la Salud: erradicación del cáncer cervical para 2030.

Background In August 2018, Puerto Rico (PR) became the 4th state or territory in the United States to adopt a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine school-entry requirement, for students 11–12 years old. Evidence suggests that the content of media coverage may impact people’s perception of HPV vaccine and their willingness to vaccinate. This study aimed to analyze the content of digital news coverage related to the implementation of the policy in PR. Methods A content review was conducted of digital media published from January 2017 through December 2018. The content reviewed was carried out in two steps: 1) creating a matrix to summarize each article’s content about the policy and 2) qualitative analysis using a grounded theory approach. Results The search resulted in 34 articles obtained from 17 online local and international news outlets that reported the policy's implementation. Analyses showed that 61% of the news articles did not mention the number of required doses, and 79% discussed the new policy concerning cancer prevention. In 2017, news coverage focused mostly on describing the policy, while 2018 coverage focused on controversies surrounding the implementation. Neutral emergent codes included: 1) Description of the policy; 2) Information about HPV related cancers; and 3) General information about HPV vaccine. Negative emergent codes included: 1) infringement to patient and parental autonomy; 2) Hesitancy from the political sector, and 3) Hesitancy from groups and coalitions. Positive content included: 1) knowledge and acceptance of HPV vaccine for cancer prevention; 2) importance of education and protective sexual behaviors; and 3) new vaccination law proposal. Conclusions Most of the media coverage in PR was neutral and included limited information related to the vaccine, HPV, and HPV-related cancers. Neutral and negative themes could influence public concerns regarding the new policy, as well as HPV vaccination rates in PR.

Introduction: School-entry vaccination mandates have been widely used as a mechanism to ensure high immunization coverage rates. In August 2018, Puerto Rico (PR) mandated a Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine school-entry policy for student’s ages 11 to 12 years. This new requirement in PR presents an opportunity to study the implementation process across a 5 years period (2018-2023). In this ongoing study, we conducted Key Informant (KI) interviews to document factors that facilitate or impede a successful HPV vaccine school policy implementation in PR. Methods: We conducted 29 KI semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in the Department of Health (DOH), school system, healthcare organizations, community-based organizations and coalitions in PR (in favor and against the school-entry policy) from July 2018 to June 2019. The interview guide included relevant domains based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, such as Intervention characteristics, Inner setting, Outer setting and Individual characteristics. We transcribed interviews, coded transcripts and analyzed data to identify emergent themes. Results: Potential facilitators of HPV policy implementation included: clear enforcement messages and use of personal anecdotes by nurses from health and school fields, the coverage of the vaccine by medical insurers, and the power of the Secretary of Health to include vaccines required for school-entry. Perceived barriers to the implementation process were: lack of communication between the DOH and the Department of Education, lack of knowledge about the HPV vaccine, uncertainty about the consistency of implementation in schools, lack of vaccine availability and disproportionate burden for regional school nurses. Other barrier to implementation mentioned included: school directors and teachers were detached from the implementation process, and lack of compliance from private health providers and public schools towards the immunization registry. Coalitions against this mandate focused their concerns on the right of parental autonomy. Recommendations from KI focused on: stricter policies to enforce this law in public schools, clear messages about the new mandate and HPV vaccine current coverage by health care insurers in PR. Moreover, KI expresses the need for more support from the DOH (technical and educational training to school principals and teachers, health promotion), and the need for increased education about the HPV vaccine and recommendations. Conclusions: Although school vaccination mandates are an evidence-based strategy for improving vaccination rates, several implementation barriers could affect the impact. Findings from this study can be used for improving policy procedures and implementation, and can inform states/territories considering adopting similar immunization policies. The information generated will help determine adaptations/modifications that may be needed for policy implementation in PR and other populations in the future. Citation Format: Roxana Soto-Abreu, Manuel E. Rivera-Encarnación, Vilnery Rivera-Figueroa, Glizette O. Arroyo-Morales, Diana T. Medina-Laabes, Olga L. Diaz-Miranda, Pamela C. Hull, Ana P. Ortiz-Martínez, Erick L. Suárez-Pérez, María E. Fernández, Vivian Colón-López. Human papillomavirus school-entry vaccination mandate in Puerto Rico: Barriers and facilitators from the perspective of key informants [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D047.

Introduction: Individuals and groups against vaccination have used various outlets, such as mass media, social media, and legislative hearings to express doubts about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. In 2018, the Puerto Rico Department of Health included the HPV vaccine as a school-entry requirement for children ages 11-12. Currently, the requirement extends to students ages 11-16. Since the announcement in 2017 of the new school-entry requirement as a preventive cancer strategy, many groups have expressed opposition. Although studies have documented the barriers and facilitators for implementing this policy on the island, qualitative studies assessing stakeholders' views against the implementation of the new requirement are lacking. We aimed to describe stakeholders' perspectives who opposed the HPV vaccine and the implementation as a school-entry requirement in PR. Methods: In-depth interviews (n=8) were conducted between March 2019-January 2020. Healthcare providers, religious leaders, and coalition spokespersons were interviewed. The Consolidated Framework for Research Implementation (CFIR) was used to develop the semi-structured interview guide. CFIR domains (and constructs) included were characteristics of individuals (knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the HPV vaccination, school-entry requirement, and exemptions), intervention characteristics (current practices, advantages and disadvantages of the implementation), and implementation procedures (planning, commitment of implementers and evaluation). Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed in Spanish. Transcripts were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Additional constructs were derived from CFIR constructs and emergent codes were included. Results: The most common CFIR domain observed was individual characteristics (knowledge and beliefs), of which HPV hesitancy and vaccine distrust were emergent themes. Arguments against the policy also cited the adverse effects of the vaccine under the intervention characteristics domain (evidence strength and quality). Lastly, excessive government interference was discussed by stakeholders in which concerns regarding the HPV vaccine school-entry requirement and how this policy does not align with their values of religious freedom, parental, educational and sexual rights were mentioned. Conclusion: Despite the recent documented positive impact of the school-entry requirement in HPV immunization rates in PR, many continue to oppose the vaccine mandate. Stakeholders' arguments against the HPV vaccine policy, including knowledge and beliefs, and excessive government interference, echo concerns of other mandated vaccines reported in the literature. Understanding arguments against school-entry requirements is necessary to tailor educational campaigns to increase vaccination rates, which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, prevent HPV-related cancers, and reduce the hesitancy in of school-entry policies in the future. Citation Format: Gloriany Rivas, Roxana Soto-Abreu, Glizette O. Arroyo-Morales, Diana T. Medina-Laabes, Olga L. Díaz-Miranda, Coralia Vázquez-Otero, Vivian Colón-López. Understanding views against the HPV vaccine school-entry requirement in Puerto Rico [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-040.

Background: In August 2018, Puerto Rico (PR) adopted the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a school-entry requirement for all students (male and female) 11 to 12 years old. Information about HPV shared in online media outlets may influence vaccine hesitancy, uptake, and parental decision. Before and after the requirement took effect, news coverage of this policy promoted discussions by groups in favor of the vaccine as well as the uproar of anti-vaccine groups, which may have influenced parental perceptions of the school-entry policy. Objective: This qualitative study explored arguments in favor of and against HPV vaccination and the new school-entry vaccination policy among parents, stakeholders, and coalitions in Puerto Rico. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify digital media reports related to the HPV vaccination policy and its implementation in PR from January 2017 to December 2018. This analysis focuses only on the codes extracted from the arguments provided by different organizations, coalitions and parents interviewed in the media. A grounded theory approach was used to identify emergent arguments discussed during this period in the news reports. ATLAS.ti 8 was used to facilitate data manipulation and retrieval. Results: Of all the quotes analyzed, 78% were coded as negative (against), 19% were positive (in favor) and only 3% were neutral towards the new HPV school-entry policy. The analysis identified emergent themes related arguments in favor of and against the HPV vaccine policy implementation. Positive arguments frequently discussed, included the following themes: 1) importance of the HPV vaccine for cancer prevention; 2) acknowledgment of sexual practices/activities in youth and 3) healthcare provider recommendation. Primary themes that emerged in arguments against the HPV school-entry policy included: 1) patient autonomy; 2) the right of parents to be informed about the vaccine; 3) lack of education regarding the efficacy of the vaccine; 4) potential risk of vaccines; and 5) pharmaceutical and economic interests. Conclusion: This study explored the most emerging arguments discussed in the media before and during the implementation of the HPV school entry policy in Puerto Rico. Most information disseminated was against this new policy. Media shared online was not balanced, which can lead to the promotion of vaccine hesitancy. Future online media coverage could expand the scope of information and provide a balanced, unbiased overview of this school-entry policy from a more comprehensive range of reliable sources. Citation Format: Glizette O Arroyo-Morales, Vilnery Rivera-Figueroa, Roxana Soto-Abreu, Manuel E Rivera-Encarnación, Olga L Diaz-Miranda, Diana T Medina-Laabels, Ana P Ortiz-Martinez, Erick L Suárez-Pérez, Maria E Fernández, Pamela C Hull, Vivian Colón-López. Arguments in favor and against the new HPV school entry implementation in Puerto Rico: Content analysis of online media coverage [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D030.