Teaching community outreach and education: The HPV prevention initiative

The FDA's approval of Gardasil in 2006 was lauded as an intervention which would save millions of women from the complications of human papilloma virus (HPV), including death from cervical cancer. As the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US population under 24 years old, HPV infections cost society billions annually.

A learning experience was designed for public health nursing students to collaborate with college health services to provide outreach and education. Outreach included the initiation of a Facebook site which contained links to informational online sites and educational information. All female students up to 26 years of age were contacted to “friend” the site by the public health nursing students. The site provided a “Question and Answer” area to students. Questions were followed up on by public health nursing students with faculty and health services support. Facebook event invitations were sent out to notify students of HPV vaccine clinics on campus.

Nursing students also provided interactive health education experiences about HPV in a variety of settings including residence halls, College 101 classes, and sorority meetings. Educational radio spots were recorded and played on the College radio station in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Creole, and Russian to capture the attention of the multi-cultural student body. Students published two articles on HPV prevention including vaccination in the College newspaper. The learning experience was a valuable one for public health nursing students who benefited from a creative approach to public health nursing practice as well as the students on campus.