National Screening Service & National Immunisation Office, HSE
HPV Vaccination Collaborative Project
Community engagement – Call For Submissions

Background

The National Screening Service (NSS) and the National Immunisation Office are collaborating on a HPV vaccination project, as part of the Cervical Cancer Elimination (CCE) project. The aim of the project is to utilise existing community networks to pilot a targeted vaccination campaign with underserved communities including Traveller, Roma and migrant women who would like to know more about the HPV vaccine and to avail of it in the community setting if they decide to. This project will build on the work of existing NSS community champions*.

* Please see our community champions report for additional information - New report shows important role of communities in supporting people to access screening

Cervical Cancer Elimination

Ireland publicly committed to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global initiative to eliminate cervical cancer in January 2023 - one of the first countries in the world to do so.

The WHO defines elimination of cervical cancer as fewer than 4 cases per 100,000 women. This would make cervical cancer rare. Ireland’s incidence rate is now 10.1 per 100,000. Elimination of cervical cancer does not mean zero cases of cervical cancer, but it will bring us to a point where there are so few cases that it is no longer a public health problem. Ireland can achieve this by 2040, due to the success of the HPV vaccination and cervical screening programmes.

Known as the 90-70-90 targets, the WHO is asking every country to put measures in place to reach these by 2030, to put the world on course to eliminate cervical cancer:

• 90% of girls vaccinated against HPV by age 15.
• 70% of women screened by age 35 and again by age 45.
• 90% of people identified with cervical disease treated.

HPV is the cause of most cervical cancers and research published by the National Screening Service provides early evidence of the positive protective effect of HPV vaccination on cervical disease in Ireland. Our goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 can be achieved by making sure all women and people with a cervix have access to three important tools:

• vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes most cervical cancers.
• cervical screening and treatment of precancers to find HPV infections and signs of changes in the cervix and treat any abnormalities that are found before cancer can develop.
• timely cervical cancer treatment and access to appropriate care and support services, including palliative care.

HPV Vaccination Project

The objective of this Women’s Health Taskforce funded project is to support Ireland’s effort to eliminate cervical cancer by improving the HPV vaccination rates of underserved populations including Traveller, Roma and migrants, who may not have had the vaccination previously. This project is a partnership between the National Screening Service and the National Immunisation Office.

Ireland’s vision for 2040 is of an Ireland where cervical cancer is rare in every community. This requires targeted programmes to address the known barriers and specific issues faced by some communities. There is a need to work with communities to design, test and evaluate a targeted programmes that works for them. This proposal aims to utilise existing community networks to pilot a targeted vaccination campaign with Traveller, Roma and migrant communities who would like to know more about the HPV vaccine and to avail of it in the community setting, if they decide to, building on the work of existing NSS community champions.

The focus will be to engage with the existing community champions and underserved populations including Traveller, Roma and migrants to co-design a pilot programme to facilitate HPV vaccination catch-up for those who may have missed the offer.

Proposal elements

We are interested in engaging a person/organisation who can lead on the community engagement element of this project. This project is being conducted in HSE Cork and Kerry (area D) and the person will need to be available for face-to-face project interaction in that geographical area.

The objectives are to:

1. Consult with community workers, community representatives and healthcare professionals on barriers to the HPV vaccination and interventions to increase the uptake of vaccination in the identified communities.
2. Document the consultation in terms of identified needs and outcomes and provide recommendations of possible interventions.
3. Co-design evidence-informed interventions based on the consultation feedback; this may include educational interventions and a proposal for outreach/ engagement.
4. Co-design a model of care for the HPV vaccine in collaboration with relevant partners.

Timeframe

The project elements of consultation and co-design need to be completed by October 2025.

Required deliverables.

• Development of interview/ focus group guides
• Transcription of interviews and focus groups.
• A brief mid-way status update presentation to project sponsors (early September 2025)
• A report that captures the findings and recommendations** as follows; the findings section’ will detail qualitative information from stakeholder engagements.
• Contribute to a suite of co-designed educational resources.

**The recommendations section of the report will inform and create conditions for co-designing the model of care and project deliverables. It will highlight key learnings and provide clear recommendations based on the findings.

Proposed methodology

Planning:

• Meet with National Screening Service project team and other if necessary
• Stakeholder mapping
• Engagement with the local project team, once established
• Support briefing sessions
• Plan consultation with community health workers, community representatives and healthcare professionals that work with/ support underserved populations including Travellers, Roma and migrants.

Consultation:

• Conduct consultation with underserved populations including Travellers, Roma and migrants.
• Analyse results
• Present findings in a report with recommendations.

Co-design:

• Plan the co-design of interventions based on consultation findings.
• Support the co-design of information resources.
• Plan for and co-design a model of care for HPV vaccine delivery with communities.

Project close out:

• Present findings to the project partners – NIO and NSS.
• Contribute to the evaluation of project.

Governance

The project sponsor will oversee all elements of this project. It is envisaged that a local (Cork and Kerry) project team will oversee this work and report to the NSS/NIO cervical cancer elimination group.

Estimated value of contract

Interested parties are asked to prepare a project proposal outlining approximate cost giving per day rate (Exclusive of VAT).

Assessment of applicants

Each applicant will be assessed based on:

• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the project request.
• Proven track record
• Experience in relevant methodologies.
• Knowledge and experience of working with key stakeholders.
• Applicant should have adequate experience and be able to gather and synthesise information to provide comprehensive recommendations.
• Applicant should have the ability to complete this project in the timeframe allocated.
• Applicant should be able to deliver this project on budget.

Applications

To apply, please send an application that includes the following:

• Draft work plan, methods and proposed timelines
• Breakdown of costs
• CVs of individuals involved in the evaluation including relevant evaluation experience.

Any conflict of interest must be declared at application stage.

How to apply/ submission of applications

Queries and applications should include the subject line ‘HPV vaccination- consultation and co-design’ and be submitted by email to Lynn Swinburne, Senior Health Promotion officer, lynn.swinburne@screeningservice.ie

Closing date: April 14th, 2025