{"id":2811,"date":"2023-09-15T16:13:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T16:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/cancerprevention\/?p=2811"},"modified":"2023-09-15T16:13:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T16:13:35","slug":"protect-europe-vaccinating-europe-to-protect-against-hpv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancerprevention.qmul.ac.uk\/index.php\/2023\/09\/15\/protect-europe-vaccinating-europe-to-protect-against-hpv\/","title":{"rendered":"PROTECT-EUROPE: Vaccinating Europe to protect against HPV"},"content":{"rendered":"

This piece was co-written by Margaret Stanley, Daniel Kelly and Peter Baker (full biographies at the bottom of this piece).<\/em><\/p>\n

HPV, cancer cases and gender-neutral HPV vaccination: the current situation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Vaccinating both boys and girls against the human papilloma virus (HPV) is a flagship policy in Europe\u2019s Beating Cancer Plan<\/a>. If implemented throughout the European Union, gender-neutral vaccination has the potential to eliminate all cervical, anal, vaginal, penile, head and neck cancers caused by HPV.<\/p>\n

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HPV causes approximately 5% of all cancers worldwide<\/a>. It is responsible for approximately 67,500 new cancer cases each year across the 27 EU Member States<\/a>. Up to 30% of these cancers are in men, with rates of male head and neck cancer increasing with worrying rapidity. Men who have sex with men are at particular risk, especially from anal cancer, as they are unprotected by female-only vaccination programmes.<\/p>\n

Gender-neutral HPV vaccination programmes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Currently, about half of all EU Member States deliver gender-neutral vaccination<\/a> programmes. In addition to providing gender-wide protection, gender-neutral programmes are more likely to remain resilient in the face of anti-vaccination campaigns (as have been seen in Ireland and Denmark, for example) or shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic. In turn, gender-neutral vaccination programmes have been shown to be cost-effective<\/a>, even in countries with high (>80%) vaccination rates in girls.<\/p>\n

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But gender-neutral programmes cannot make the difference needed if vaccination uptake is too low to achieve \u2018herd immunity<\/a>‘. Europe\u2019s Beating Cancer Plan has an uptake target of 90% for girls, with an accompanying objective of achieving a \u2018significant\u2019 increase for boys. (The European Cancer Organisation<\/a> has argued for a universal 90% uptake target, across all sexes). However, current uptake targets are not being met, in Europe or globally. In order to meet these targets, and in more than just one or two countries, a new approach is needed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Credit: Journal of Internal Medicine<\/em><\/h6>\n

The PROTECT-EUROPE<\/em> programme<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is where the PROTECT-EUROPE <\/em>programme comes in. Led by the European Cancer Organisation<\/a>, PROTECT-EUROPE<\/em>: Vaccinating Europe to protect against the cancers caused by HPV<\/a> is a two-year,\u00a0 \u00a0 EU-funded programme. It brings together more than 30 organisations, from across 16 countries, to encourage and advocate for increased vaccination uptake.<\/p>\n

The project consortium\u2019s stakeholders include clinicians from oncology, general practice, pharmacy and nursing, together with public health professionals, patient groups, young people\u2019s organisations and sporting organisations. Members are working together through six inter-related \u2018Work Packages<\/a>,\u2019 with each focusing on a different aspect of the project.<\/p>\n

PROTECT-EUROPE<\/em><\/strong> aims<\/strong><\/h2>\n

a. Information and training for healthcare professionals<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The first key objective for PROTECT-EUROPE<\/em> is to provide healthcare professionals with information and training.<\/p>\n

Health practitioners often act as a key point of contact, and a trusted source<\/a>, for young people and caregivers seeking information about HPV vaccination. However, there is evidence that many practitioners lack the confidence (and underpinning knowledge) to provide appropriate guidance<\/a>. It is therefore important to optimise one-on-one communication, to leverage patients\u2019 trust in clinicians to help increase vaccine uptake.<\/p>\n

Many healthcare practitioners remain without sufficient knowledge and training on HPV vaccination. In Bulgaria, for example, GPs are known to tell patients that HPV vaccination causes infertility in females. Without adequate knowledge, many wrongly advise against vaccination. It is therefore important to fill this gap through robust educational training.<\/p>\n

The PROTECT-EUROPE <\/em>training programmes will first be delivered digitally. These will then be scaled up to Member States, using a \u2018training-of-trainers\u2019 model<\/a>. A series of masterclasses on HPV vaccination will also be delivered to relevant health professionals, via conferences, symposia and workshops.<\/p>\n

b. Tackling online misinformation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The project\u2019s second main objective is to design and provide guidance and campaign tools for tackling online misinformation around HPV vaccination. These will be provided to Member States and relevant civil society organisations.<\/p>\n

Online misinformation about HPV vaccination is known to be a key factor contributing to vaccine hesitancy<\/a>. By making appropriate guidance and campaign tools available, Member States and relevant organisations will be in a better position to address flawed online information.<\/p>\n

The campaign tools will be designed in a range of different formats, to enable circulation as widely as possible. These will include social-media-appropriate content, online website material, physical posters, and community-site leaflets.<\/p>\n

c. Reaching marginalised groups<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are known health inequalities (including in HPV-related cancer outcomes) within and across multiple EU nations. These are linked to a wide array of health determinants, including geographical location, socioeconomic background and ethnic minority status.<\/p>\n

PROTECT-EUROPE<\/em> will pay particular attention to issues of equality and diversity, to ensure that vaccination programmes reach marginalised and higher-risk groups.<\/p>\n

The whole project will be independently evaluated, by University College Cork.<\/p>\n

All the project\u2019s outputs will be made available via an accessible online hub, and disseminated via a final project report and a large-scale event.<\/p>\n

The broader landscape of EU HPV vaccination projects<\/strong><\/h2>\n

PROTECT-EUROPE<\/em>, which will conclude in January 2025, complements two other EU-funded projects with similar goals.<\/p>\n

PERCH<\/u><\/h3>\n

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The first, PERCH<\/a> (PartnERship to Contrast\u00a0HPV), is led by EU Member States. PERCH aims to:<\/p>\n