Abstract:

Deaths and health problems related to cervical cancer have been of wide interest at global and European level in the recent years. World Health Organization (WHO) statistics concerning the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) related mortality in Europe are placing Romania on a distressing 1st position, showing that cervical cancer is the first cause of neoplasm mortality in women between 15 and 44, killing six each day, while every year over 3,000 new cases are found, in a female population of 11,400,000.
In November 2008, the Romanian Government’s attempt to implement a health policy of vaccination for the prevention of HPV contamination ended up as a bitter failure. Since then, the Romanian Ministry of Health acknowledged the disaster and changed the approach: it created a specialized Information Center for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer along with a sustained information campaign on the benefits and risks of anti-HPV vaccination. The current results of the new vaccination campaign started in 2009 show an increase in the number of young girls vaccinated, but there is still much place for improvement.
This paper focuses on identifying and analyzing some of the causes of the failure, on presenting the reactions and the new approaches of the involved institutions, and on proposing some valid answers to the problems of public policy implementation, highlighting the need of policy dialogue and of stakeholders' involvement in the decision making process.
It is not in the scope of this article to discuss the medical validity and appropriateness of vaccinations against HPV, nor is its purpose to simply analyze the underlying issues of the campaign failure. Rather, we have opted for a new approach: with this endeavor we seek to assist the healthcare policy-makers in identifying viable solutions and pragmatic step-by-step approaches for implementing sound public policies.

Keywords:

Public policy, HPV vaccination, policy dialogue, stakeholders, decision-making.