Uptake of Free HPV Vaccination Among Young Women: A Comparison of Rural Versus Urban Rates

Purpose: To contrast rates of initial HPV vaccine uptake, offered at no cost, between a rural clinic, a rural community college, and an urban college clinic and to identify rural versus urban differences in uptake of free booster doses. Methods: Young rural women attending rural clinics (n = 246), young women attending a rural community college (n = 251) and young women attending an urban university health clinic (n = 209) were recruited in Kentucky. After completing a brief questionnaire, women received a free voucher for HPV vaccination. Whether women redeemed the voucher for the initial dose of vaccine served as the study outcome variable. Findings: In controlled analyses, the contrast in initial uptake between urban clinic women (reference category) and rural college women was significant (P< .0001). However, the contrast in initial uptake between urban clinic women (reference category) and rural clinic women was not significant (P= .42). The model predicting uptake of subsequent doses among those with initial uptake (n = 235) also indicated significant differences as a function of recruitment location, with rural clinic women being about 7 times more likely than urban clinic women (P< .0001) to not return for at least 1 follow-up dose. The contrast between urban clinic women and rural college women was also significant (P= .014). Conclusion: Initial uptake of free HPV vaccination among young rural college women may be problematic. Moreover, uptake of subsequent free doses among rural women may be problematic regardless of whether contact is made in a clinic or through college recruitment.