Objective: To determine the percentage of patients vaccinated per individual provider and to document attitudes and reasons for the acceptance of the human papillomavirus vaccine.
Methods: Computerized records were reviewed for individual practitioners in an urban department of obstetrics and gynecology to determine vaccination rates. Questionnaires filled out by practitioners were used to assess individual attitudes and reasons for the unequal distribution of vaccination.
Results: Overall vaccination rate was 28% (range 6%-55.8%) for the initial 3-month period when the vaccine became available. Barriers to acceptance included patient concerns, provider concerns over safety, and provider concerns over cost. Experience in practice and self-described attitudes toward early acceptance of new medication were not predictive.
Conclusions: Early acceptance of human papillomavirus vaccination was provider dependent and was not related to provider experience or attitude. Concerns over cost and safety may be barriers to increasing vaccination rates by gynecologists.