Scope Impact Publishes Report in Collaboration with the WHO Exploring User Perspectives on Potential Therapeutic HPV Vaccines

Scope Impact, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) through a grant from the Gates Foundation, investigated user perspectives on the potential value of therapeutic HPV vaccines as a novel technology to complement existing cervical cancer prevention initiatives. Scope conducted in-depth user discovery research in Kenya,  followed by a global study among national immunization and cervical cancer managers. The first report from the study outlines the insights and opportunities gained from speaking with women, healthcare providers, and healthcare managers in Kenya. 

The discovery research supports the WHO’s global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem, which could result in more than 62 million lives saved over the course of the next century. Prophylactic or preventative HPV vaccination for girls, in tandem with cervical cancer screening and treatment are critical to achieving the goals of the global strategy. Despite the expansion of prophylactic vaccine programs, the current coverage extends to only 13% of girls eligible to receive the vaccine. Screening and treatment are crucial to address the gap for women who have not received preventative HPV vaccine, but these have been complex and expensive to scale.  New, complementary approaches are needed for women who have already acquired cancer-causing types of HPV to prevent progression to cervical cancer.

Therapeutic vaccines represent a potential  innovative approach to clearing HPV infection (the main cause of most cervical cancers) and/or regressing precancerous lesions, leveraging the body’s immune response. While still in the early stages of clinical development, therapeutic HPV vaccines hold considerable promise for revolutionizing treatment paradigms. The discovery research focused on understanding preferred  product characteristics and the value in investing in this technology from a variety of user perspectives.

Project approach for the Kenya study

We used human-centered design (HCD) principles and methods, ensuring a highly participatory, inclusive and empathy-based approach to the research. Applying  qualitative research, the study engaged three key user groups – women of reproductive age with varying experience with cervical cancer services, health providers and national and subnational program managers. Through the participatory discovery research and collaborative synthesis mapping, we uncovered unique perspectives and insights across end-user groups, and gained a deeper understanding into important implications and considerations for future therapeutic vaccines. 

The insights in this report serve as an initial valuable source of knowledge and inspiration to guide the development, implementation, and rollout of future HPV therapeutic vaccines to be used by universities, companies and other stakeholders who are working on clinical development of the vaccine. The final global study report is forthcoming and will be published as a peer-reviewed journal article.

Stay tuned for further updates.