Improving HPV Vaccination Coverage: Current Challenges, Emerging Strategies and Future Directions: 2nd Edition
A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Papillomavirus Vaccines".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 348
Editor
Interests: epidemiology; evidence-based medicine; burden of disease; prevention; public health; cancer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary cause of cervical and most anal cancers worldwide, and it is substantially implicated in several other cancer localizations. Since the introduction of the first HPV vaccines in 2006, widespread vaccination has led to marked declines in HPV infection and HPV-related disease in many populations. Despite these successes, global HPV vaccination coverage remains suboptimal, with pronounced disparities across regions, income groups, and genders. These inequities continue to drive a preventable disease burden and widen health gaps both between and within countries.
In recent years, major scientific and policy developments have reshaped HPV vaccination. Modeling studies and real-world evidence have shown promising results for single-dose HPV vaccination schedules, while revised recommendations regarding age at vaccination and gender-neutral strategies are increasingly being considered and implemented. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in routine immunization programs, leading to substantial disruptions in HPV vaccine delivery, the accumulation of missed or delayed cohorts and exacerbating barriers to vaccine uptake in many settings.
As health systems transition from pandemic disruption to recovery and scale-up, there is an urgent need to rethink HPV vaccination strategies, accelerate coverage, and address persistent challenges such as hesitancy, access barriers, misinformation, and structural inequalities. In this context, the expanding role of social media in both information and misinformation ecosystems presents challenges but also opportunities to strengthen trust through the effective communication of evidence-based research.
This Second Edition of the Special Issue invites high-quality original research, systematic reviews, brief reports, and policy analyses that advance our understanding of the following:
- Determinants of HPV vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and uptake in diverse populations;
- Programmatic and implementation strategies that increase coverage and equity;
- Impact of COVID-19 and other public health disruptions on HPV vaccination programs, including the effectiveness of catch-up and school-based re-launch strategies;
- Innovative communication and education interventions to strengthen public trust in vaccination;
- Health system, policy, and economic evaluations supporting sustainable HPV vaccine delivery;
- Advances in vaccine schedules and the use of new tools such as digital reminders and novel delivery platforms to improve accessibility.
This Second Edition welcomes multidisciplinary contributions that generate actionable evidence and inform both research and practice in HPV vaccination and cancer prevention.
Dr. Irena Ilic
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- HPV vaccination
- HPV vaccination coverage
- HPV vaccine uptake
- single-dose HPV vaccination
- gender-neutral HPV vaccination
- HPV-related cancers
- cervical cancer elimination
- HPV vaccine hesitancy
- HPV vaccine communication
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