School-based vaccination programs and the HPV vaccine in 16 Appalachian Kentucky school districts: Results from a pilot study

The purpose of this article is to describe a pilot study of 16 Appalachian Kentucky school districts designed to gather information about their school vaccination and health education programs in relation to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. School district administrators were contacted by a professional telephone interviewer and asked to participate in a structured interview that also included open-ended questions. Results suggest that few schools have school-based vaccination programs, and of those that do, very few programs include the HPV vaccine. A majority of respondents reported that information leaflets about HPV are available in the schools, whereas few schools include discussions of HPV in their health programs. Almost all respondents reported an excellent relationship with their county health departments, school nurses, and school social workers, although most schools lacked the presence of a school social worker. Implications for social work practice and policy and directions for future research are also discussed.