# IMPACT Project 3 – Engaging clinical champions to improve HPV vaccine communication and uptake in healthcare systems

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $457,160

## Abstract

ABSTRACT – Project 3
 Widespread HPV vaccination could prevent most HPV cancers, but uptake among US adolescents
remains far below national goals. To increase uptake, we developed Announcement Approach Training (AAT).
AAT is a 1-hour communication workshop in which our physician facilitators train primary care teams to
address the most critical barrier to HPV vaccination: infrequent and ineffective recommendations. AAT is
effective for increasing HPV vaccine uptake among adolescents and is certified as an NCI Research-Tested
Intervention Program. One of the most promising opportunities for scaling up AAT is to implement the
intervention in healthcare systems, where most US pediatricians and family physicians now work. However,
new approaches to delivering AAT will be needed to bring the intervention to scale effectively in these settings.
Thus, as part of the P01 Program Project, “Improving Provider Announcement Communication Training
(IMPACT),” Project 3 will enhance AAT to train systems' own clinical champions to deliver AAT, thereby
building capacity for HPV vaccine communication training. In Aim 1, we will identify opportunities to
engage clinical champions in delivering AAT within their own healthcare systems. Working with 6
partnering healthcare systems, we will interview 24 champions to understand: anticipated barriers and
facilitators to AAT delivery; opportunities to extend AAT activities to increase reach and sustainability; and
preferences for receiving training on how to deliver AAT. In Aim 2, we will compare the impact of Champion
AAT to Traditional AAT on HPV vaccine uptake and communication. Using Aim 1 findings, we will adapt
our existing intervention package to train champions to deliver AAT to clinics in their own systems. In a 2-arm
non-inferiority trial, we will randomize 40 clinics in our 6 systems to receive Champion AAT or Traditional AAT.
We will compare interventions on the primary outcome of HPV vaccine initiation, among adolescents ages 11-
12, at 12-month follow-up. We hypothesize that Champion AAT will be non-inferior to (i.e., as effective as)
Traditional AAT. We will also compare our interventions on intermediate outcomes, including changes in
workshop participants' communication, to identify mechanisms that may explain improvements in HPV vaccine
uptake. In Aim 3, we will generate guidance to help healthcare systems compare and implement
Champion AAT and Traditional AAT. We will compare our interventions on implementation measures to
understand whether Champion AAT offers advantages, such as higher reach to primary care professionals,
compared to Traditional AAT. Lastly, to integrate Project 3 with other IMPACT projects, we will share data to
support cost-effectiveness modeling in Project 4 and contribute the Champion AAT module to the P01-wide
AAT Intervention Package. In this way, we will prepare our highly scalable intervention for national
dissemination. Project 3 addresses the IMPACT Program Project theme by e...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10266274
- **Project number:** 1P01CA250989-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa B Gilkey
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $457,160
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-23 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10266274

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10266274, IMPACT Project 3 – Engaging clinical champions to improve HPV vaccine communication and uptake in healthcare systems (1P01CA250989-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10266274. Licensed CC0.

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