A vaccine for the human papillomavirus virus (HPV) will likely be available within two to four years and will probably be targeted to preadolescent children. Given the need for the consent of parents to administer the vaccine in that population, parents will play a key role in how widely accepted the vaccine is.
A vaccine for the human papillomavirus virus (HPV) will likely be available within two to four years and will probably be targeted to preadolescent children. Given the need for the consent of parents to administer the vaccine in that population, parents will play a key role in how widely accepted the vaccine is.
A study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2005 Annual Meeting showed that parents would tend to make a choice about this issue based on attitudes and life experiences. The study found that education via HPV information sheets "[improved] parental knowledge about HPV but did not result in a significant difference in parental HPV vaccine acceptability."
The study was a randomized controlled trial of written educational materials about HPV as a means of improving parental knowledge. A cross-sectional survey was sent to 1,600 parents of 8- to 12-year-old children. Half of the parents received a basic paragraph about HPV with the survey, while the other half received the basic paragraph and a two-page HPV information sheet.
Presenter Amanda F. Dempsey, MD, a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, said that it would be helpful if physicians educated parents on the prevalence of the virus. Approximately 80% of adults in the United States have been exposed to HPV, which can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. (Poster Session 4981)
The benefits of concurrent fetal and maternal heart rate monitoring
April 17th 2024A recent study revealed that employing maternal heart rate monitoring alongside fetal heart rate monitoring during labor significantly decreases the incidence of neonatal encephalopathy and severe neonatal acidemia.
Having "the talk" with teen patients
June 17th 2022A visit with a pediatric clinician is an ideal time to ensure that a teenager knows the correct information, has the opportunity to make certain contraceptive choices, and instill the knowledge that the pediatric office is a safe place to come for help.
Identifying benign lesions in female patients by new algorithm
October 6th 2023In this Q+A interview originally conducted by our sister publication, Contemporary OB/GYN, Peter Minneci, MD, MHSc, discusses a study evaluating a new algorithm capable of accurately identifying benign lesions in female patients.