The discovery of human papillomavirus, or HPV, as a major cause of many cancers — including cervical, anal, oropharyngeal, vaginal, vulvar and penile — and the subsequent development of prophylactic HPV vaccines was a revolution in cancer prevention.
But 10 years after the vaccine’s introduction, HPV vaccination rates among U.S. adolescents remain unacceptably low. Now, a five-year study led by UCLA cancer researcher Roshan Bastani will examine the comparative effectiveness of strategies designed to increase the number of adolescents who receive the HPV vaccine. The work is being funded by a $6.6 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
The project is a partnership among the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the Northeast Valley Health Corporation, which provides health care to primarily uninsured or publicly insured, low-income, Latinos in Los Angeles County.
Bastani is a professor at the Fielding School, director of disparities and community engagement at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and director of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity. The UCLA team also includes Beth Glenn, Alison Herrmann and Catherine Crespi. The Northeast Valley Health team is led by Debra Rosen, director of quality and health education and Dr. Christine Park, chief medical officer.
