HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast

By coming together, the southeastern roundtable will focus on:

• Current conditions surrounding HPV vaccination and HPV cancer prevention
• Replicating HPV vaccination success stories across the Southeast
• Overcoming challenges facing HPV vaccination
• Opportunities to improve HPV vaccination coverage in each state and the overall region

Together, we can change the story about HPV cancer prevention in the southeast.

1. Develop and implement a communication campaign and messages for the Southeastern region
2. Develop and disseminate a plan for HPV cancer elimination in the Southeast, beginning with cervical cancer as a public health problem
3. Accelerate efforts to start HPV vaccination at age 9

Stay in the know about the latest activities and events of the HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast.

The Southeast Roundtable is hosting three virtual follow-up meetings to discuss progress in realizing action steps identified during the in-person meeting.

The first two meetings were February 14 and March 20. The next one is April 24 from noon-1 p.m. Central Time. 

Access the latest HPV vaccination and HPV cancer data for each of the states in the HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast. 

The HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast held an in-person meeting in January 2024, drawing 100 participants from 12 Southeastern states, and Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. During the meeting, attendees actively discussed, debated, and voted on evidence-based interventions, collectively identifying the top three strategies to enhance HPV vaccination rates in the region. The three priority action steps that the Southeast Roundtable will focus on are listed below:

1.  Develop and implement a communication campaign and messages for the Southeastern region
2.  Develop and disseminate a plan for HPV cancer elimination in the Southeast, beginning with cervical cancer as a public health problem.
3.  Accelerate efforts to start HPV vaccination at age 9

The HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast hosted three virtual meetings to reconvene southeastern states and improve HPV vaccination coverage.  Each meeting included state updates and a moderated discussion followed by action steps from Roundtable members. 

The HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast held a second virtual training experience on November 15 – Navigating Conversations: Effective Communication Strategies for HPV Vaccination in the Southeast. In this virtual training, Bob Bednarczyk, PhD, Emory University, presented on effective communication strategies for HPV Vaccination and addressing HPV vaccine myths, Jennifer Cunningham-Erves, PhD, Vanderbilt University presented on a tailored, mobile phone-based intervention to build HPV vaccine confidence among parents and Beth Sundstrom, PhD, College of Charleston presented on communication strategies for HPV vaccination in the southeast, specifically building confidence and resilience. The training was moderated by Francine Walton, MPH. O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast held a virtual training experience on September 13 – Digging Deeper into HPV Vaccination Data. In this virtual training, Cassandra (Sandy) Pingali, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and lead author of the MMWR publication, presented on the NIS-Teen data with Courtnay Londo of the American Immunization Registry Association and Casey Daniel, PhD of the University of South Alabama presented on HPV vaccination data sources nationally and regionally. The training was moderated by Caree McAfee, MA, CHES with the University of Kentucky - Markey Cancer Center.

Addressing HPV Vaccination Gaps in the Southeastern U.S. (2/27/2023)

 This seminar leading up to International HPV Awareness Day 2023 focused on gaps in HPV vaccination coverage in southeastern states with a focus on opportunities for action. The seminar was moderated by Fedoria Rugless, PhD with presentations given by Donna L. Williams, MS, MPH, DrPH, Pamela C. Hull, PhD, and Beth L. Sundstrom, PhD, MPH. Co-organizers included the HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast and the Memphis and Shelby County HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable.

For more information, email PreventHPV@stjude.org.