Human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in adolescents with developmental disabilities

Abstract

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..