Sources of information for assessing human papillomavirus vaccination history among young women

Assessing history of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is important for monitoring vaccine uptake- impact- and effectiveness. Based on data collected from 1720 women with high-grade cervical lesions reported to a statewide surveillance system in Connecticut- we found that available medical records did not contain HPV vaccination information for 34% of women- and 43% of women could not be reached for interview. When both were used for data collection- concordance of vaccination history (83%) and sensitivity of self-report (96%) were both high. Reviewing medical records based on self-reported information about vaccine providers increased confirmation of vaccination histories in this sample by 18%. The vaccine registry in Connecticut is not currently utilized for HPV vaccinations- but efforts to increase use for adolescent vaccines could be useful in the future to overcome limitations of other sources.