Natalie Desmond

HPV - Warts and All

Any time you raise the issue of sexual activity and teens with parents there is bound to be controversy. Introduce a vaccine into the discussion and the communication challenges start to get really interesting. Vaccine safety and efficacy concerns have attracted a lot of media attention in recent years. This high level of awareness has added complexity to the risk/benefit and informed consent discussion. By the time someone has reached their late teens the responsibility for health decisions has largely passed from the parent on to the young person. For many in their late teens, considering HPV vaccination will be one of the first formal, health-related decisions they make. This presentation takes an evidence-based look at the common 'curly' questions and concerns around the HPV vaccine and appropriate ways to communicate these concepts with adolescents.
Intended audience: Likely to interest those who are called upon to talk about HPV vaccination and cervical cancer prevention with teenagers, parents and even aunties.

Biography: Natalie Desmond is HPV Co-ordinator at Auckland District Health Board. She has been involved in the immunisation field since 1991 with experience running programmes in developing countries and in New Zealand. Past National Advisor at the Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC) she managed the telephone hotline 0800IMMUNE, lectured in post-graduate papers and is a regular contributor to public and health professional media on immunisation issues. A registered nurse, she has gained a Masters of Public Health completing a thesis on the nursing determinants' of immunisation coverage in primary health care.