Title : Increasing HPV Vaccination Awareness through Healthcare Staff Education
Abstract:
Human papillomavirus (HPV), is a sexually transmitted disease spread through skin-to skin contact. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023). More than 13 million Americans become infected each year. Once contracted, HPV can cause cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus and even oropharyngeal cancer. Despite the availability of effective vaccines against HPV, only about 54% of adolescents aged 13-17 years completed the recommended HPV vaccination series as of 2021 (CDC, 2023). Research indicates that when healthcare staff provide clear, informative data and knowledge, patients are more likely to accept it Yet, there is still a gap in knowledge among healthcare providers in how to effectively provide this information to their patients. This presentation aims to show a demonstrated increase in healthcare provider knowledge after targeted education on HPV prevention strategies with a staff education PowerPoint module. Various providers such as doctors, nurse practitioners and medical assistant staff were included in the project. The overall outcome will be measured by a demonstrated knowledge change noted by the end of the project with pre and post assessment scores. Results showed an increase in demonstrated knowledge with an overall increased mean in posttest scores compared to pretest scores and a p value of less than 0.05 showing statistical significance. This project has the potential to influence change by bringing awareness to the providers that are in the forefront managing women’s and men’s health in the prevention of cervical cancer and awareness of the benefits of health promotion such as vaccination.
