From Awareness to Action: Making “Ask About HPV” Count
Every March 4th, the global health community comes together for International HPV Awareness Day, a reminder that human papillomavirus (HPV) is a preventable cause of multiple cancers worldwide.
This year, the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) is leading the charge with its Ask About HPV campaign. The message is simple and powerful: start the conversation. Ask about HPV. Learn the facts. Take action to prevent cancer.
While HPV is widespread, the harm it causes is not inevitable. What we choose to do with the tools we already have will determine who is protected.
EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES, ABOUT 49,908 NEW CASES OF CANCER ARE FOUND IN PARTS OF THE BODY WHERE HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS (HPV) IS OFTEN FOUND. HPV CAUSES ABOUT 39,300 OF THESE CANCERS.
HPV infections, spread through intimate skin-to-skin contact, are linked to cervical, anal and oropharyngeal cancers, among others. Persistent infection with high-risk types, particularly HPV 16 and 18, accounts for the majority of cervical cancers worldwide. Despite the availability of highly effective vaccines and proven screening tools, public awareness remains too low, and disparities in access and follow‑up persist. Awareness days like this one matter, but only if they lead to concrete action in clinics, communities, and health systems.
As individuals are encouraged to ask about HPV, health systems must be prepared to answer. Are our workflows, access points, and follow-up systems designed to convert a question into vaccination? A screening visit into completed follow-up? Awareness creates momentum. Systems determine outcomes.
We Have the Tools, Now We Must Use Them
We know what works. HPV vaccination dramatically reduces the risk of infection with cancer‑causing HPV strains, and screening programs can detect precancerous changes before they progress. The currently available 9-valent HPV vaccine protects against the strains responsible for approximately 90% of cervical cancers and is most effective when administered prior to exposure. Yet, in many settings, these evidence‑based interventions do not reach the people who need them most.
Who should get the HPV vaccine?
| 9–12 years | Routine vaccination (optimal immune response) |
| 13–26 years | Catch-up vaccination if not previously vaccinated |
| 27–45 years | Shared clinical decision-making with a healthcare provider |
Awareness alone is not enough. Knowledge must translate into action. Screening remains essential even for vaccinated individuals. Current guidelines from the American Cancer Society recommend primary HPV testing beginning at age 25, with defined intervals for repeat testing based on results.
Systems must ensure access, follow-up, and continuity of care, especially for historically underserved populations. Barriers such as limited health literacy, fragmented systems, geography, income, and discrimination determine who benefits from prevention tools. These structural barriers have fueled disparities in cancer outcomes for decades.
For many teams, the real question is not “Do we know what to do?” but “What operational barrier is preventing completion?”
Equity Lives in the Details
HPV prevention demonstrates that equitable outcomes are built into systems designed for people, not convenience. Awareness campaigns are critical for reducing stigma and motivating action, but they are just the starting point.
Vaccination, screening, and follow-up must be not just available, but accessible, navigable, and culturally aligned.
Implementation-focused work reminds us that:
- Awareness must lead to engagement with vaccination and screening programs.
- Screening results must be linked to coordinated follow‑up, not passive notification.
- Prevention tools must be delivered within systems that reduce, not exacerbate, disparities.
When someone responds to the campaign and asks about HPV, the next step should feel seamless, not confusing, delayed, or out of reach.
Navigation Bridges Awareness and Action
Patient navigation, community outreach, and culturally aligned communication are essential strategies for turning awareness into completed vaccination and screening. Navigators help individuals understand prevention options, act on them, and stay engaged across the care continuum.
Without structured follow-up and navigation, many prevention efforts stall between intent and completion.
Navigation is the connective tissue that links awareness to completed care. In effective systems, dedicated navigators, nurses, medical assistants, and community health workers are accountable for proactive outreach — tracking results, scheduling follow-up, and coordinating referrals so patients do not fall through gaps. Closed-loop referral systems and electronic health record prompts reinforce this work by assigning clear responsibilities to healthcare team members and ensuring abnormal findings trigger documented resolution rather than relying on patient initiative.
When communities are encouraged to ask questions, navigation ensures those questions translate into completed vaccination, timely screening, and closed follow-up loops.
Global Momentum, Local Action
International HPV Awareness Day now unites organizations across more than 50 countries, amplifying messages in multiple languages and through local networks. This global momentum is powerful, but the decisive work happens locally.
For programs, clinics, and health systems, that can mean:
- Integrating HPV vaccination into routine preventive care.
- Strengthening screening programs with reliable follow‑up and referral systems.
- Investing in data systems that track participation and outcomes across populations.
- Building culturally and linguistically appropriate education and outreach.
The campaign encourages individuals to ask about HPV. Implementation science challenges us to ensure that when they ask, the answer is accessible, affordable, and actionable.
From Awareness to Impact
International HPV Awareness Day is more than a moment on the calendar. It is a systems test.
Are we ready when people ask about HPV?
Awareness alone does not prevent cancer — well-designed, equitable, and sustained systems do.
For STO’s community, a concrete charge for March is this: identify one barrier within your clinic, program, health system, or community setting and one specific change you can make to move more people from awareness to completed HPV vaccination or screening. Document it. Measure it. Share what you learn.
When systems are built around people, accounting for their lived experiences and the structural barriers they face, the benefits of HPV vaccination and early detection become real and lasting. In this way, every awareness day can mark not just recognition, but progress toward a future in which HPV-related cancers are truly preventable for all.