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Peer health advisors increased awareness of HPV vaccine
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After implementation of activities to increase awareness about HPV vaccination in an Alabama-area high school, researchers found that Teen Community Health Advisors were a key component in informing the adolescent population about HPV. Further efforts will focus on HPV vaccine promotion plus policy level changes, according to Jasmine Pagan, MD, and colleagues.
Pagan, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues conducted a 52-item high school student survey, made from the Health Information National Trends Survey and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The researchers then implemented Teen Community Health Advisor activities — class skits, posters, school-wide announcements and HPV-related topics in routine interactions. HPV knowledge, HPV vaccination status and awareness of community health adviser-related activities were assessed after 12 weeks.
The pre-intervention survey was completed by 359 high school students and the post-survey by 326. More than half (60%) of the participants were female; 94.4% black.
Researchers found with the pre-intervention survey that 58.4% of students heard of HPV. The number increased at follow-up to 67.5% (P=.02).
After taking part in the program activities, researchers found that students were more likely to have heard of the program (P<.001), had someone identify themselves as a Community Health Advisor (P<.001), had HPV discussed at school (P=.006), know that HPV is sexually acquired (P=.042) and acknowledge that HPV causes genital warts (P=.05).
Researchers also found that although more students had heard of the vaccine after the activities (P=.007), they were not always more likely to receive the vaccine (P=.18).
“While there was no significant increase in the number of students receiving the vaccine within the follow-up period, it is encouraging that there is more dialogue about the vaccine,” researchers said in the abstract. “Ongoing efforts will focus on continued vaccine promotion by the Community Health Advisors coupled with policy level changes to facilitate vaccine initiation and completion.”
For more information:
Pagan J. Abstract #19. Presented at: Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine 2013; March 13-16, 2013; Atlanta.
Disclosure: The study was supported by the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health Cervical Cancer-Free America.