Vaccination against human papilloma virus in the light of quaternary prevention

Abstract

In spite of the demonstrated benefits, the question of HPV massive vaccination is still subject to intense discussions and controversies. The protection against cancer is still unproven and need more time to be accurate about the quantification of the decrease in cervical cancer. The analysis of HPV vaccine relevance is very complex due to several overlapped levels to be considered. The authors analyze many of the ethical, sociological, economic, political and finally scientific issues involved. The population trust in vaccines has been affected owing to dubious practices of many pharmaceutical companies. Faced with this manipulation of information on a worldwide scale, general practitioners have organized themselves to fight this uncertainty. Quaternary prevention, a concept supported by the World Organization of Family doctors, advocates the application of ethically acceptable procedures in health care. This opinion article addresses some of the multiple dimensions involved to encourage reflection on this issue.

Keywords

• Papillomavirus Vaccines
• Primary Prevention
• Ethics
• Clinical
• Quaternary Prevention