The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has presented a 2021 NCQA Innovation Award to CenCal Health for its bilingual Know More: HPV – Improving Vaccination Uptake and Closing Health Disparities With a Digital Patient Intervention.
The in-office patient intervention supports the public health goal to increase vaccination rates to prevent infection from the human papillomavirus or HPV. The unique strategy consists of a digital program that interactively provides health information on HPV and the need to vaccinate adolescents.
Citing CenCal Health’s commitment to advancing health care quality and addressing population health needs, NCQA credited the Know More: HPV campaign with “improving vaccination uptake and closing health disparities.” CenCal Health is one of only three awardees selected among more than 40 applicants nationwide.
CenCal Health had earlier identified a geographic health disparity in HPV vaccination rates among its membership; north Santa Barbara County had an HPV vaccination rate of 48.72% while the south Santa Barbara County rate was only 31.03%.
To address this gap in care, CenCal Health worked with Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics to identify Medi-Cal plan members ages 11-12 who were due for one or more HPV vaccines, and provided them and their parents with the digital program, which can be viewed on any smart device, while they were in the clinic.
HPV annually infects 14 million people and causes more than 33,000 people in the U.S. to develop cancer each year. Though the vaccine helps prevent infections that can lead to numerous types of cancer, historically HPV vaccination rates have been lower than most other routine vaccines.
In 2020, the rate of adolescents who had received at least one HPV vaccine dose was 75.1%, but only 58.6% of teens were considered up to date with HPV vaccinations. In comparison, the rate of adolescents who had received at least one dose of two other vaccines recommended for the same age range (Tdap and meningococcal) was nearly 90% for both, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CenCal Health collaborated with the American Cancer Society to develop the digital learning tool that educates families about HPV vaccination at a critical moment, when the child is at the doctor’s office. It also gives health providers and parents a starting point to discuss vaccination during the visit.
Produced in-house by CenCal Health, Know More: HPV includes a slideshow, Q&A and video in both English and Spanish.
“It was a pleasure to support the CenCal Health team in their efforts to increase HPV vaccination rates in Santa Barbara County,” said America Cancer Society’s Raquel Arias. “The HPV vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine that helps prevent six types of cancer later in life.
“We applaud CenCal Health for using innovative strategies to ensure that all parents are offered this life-saving vaccine for their children.”
CenCal Health’s Population Health Supervisor Rachel Ponce and Health Promotion Supervisor Gabriela Labraña will present the award-winning initiative during the 2022 Quality Innovation Series. This national conference will include some 20 presentations from NCQA leadership and staff, external subject matter experts, thought leaders and accelerators outlining best practices for advancing the quality playbook.
In 2019, California’s Department of Health Care Services also gave CenCal Health an Innovation Award for this health care improvement initiative.
“I am immensely proud of this cancer-preventing work by our Population Health and Health Education teams,” said CenCal Health CEO Marina Owen. “With national and state recognition, we will be able to share — with both the healthcare industry and the public at-large — an innovative solution to educating families on the importance of HPV vaccination.”
Know More: HPV videos are available at www.cencalhealth.org/vaccines and in Spanish at www.cencalhealth.org/vacunas. For more information on CenCal Health, visit cencalhealth.org.