Teaching It Forward: Educating Parents About HPV/HPV Vaccine.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Vaccinology
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are crucial for preventing HPV-associated cancers.
• Low HPV vaccination rates are a concern due to parental hesitancy.
• Primary care settings face challenges in HPV vaccine uptake.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance parental knowledge and attitudes regarding HPV and its vaccine.
• To increase parental intention to vaccinate children against HPV.
• To improve HPV vaccination rates within a primary care office.

Main Methods:

• A pretest/posttest design assessed changes in attitude, knowledge, and intent.
• Participants viewed an educational video on HPV and the vaccine.
• HPV vaccination rates were compared before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

• Parental attitudes and knowledge about HPV/HPV vaccine showed significant improvement.
• Vaccination intent increased by 31% following the educational video.
• HPV vaccination rates rose by 6% in females and 9% in males.

Conclusions:

• Primary care providers (PCPs) play a vital role in educating parents about HPV vaccines.
• Innovative educational strategies are needed to support informed parental decision-making.
• Increased HPV vaccination contributes to reducing HPV-associated cancer incidence.