School-based research: Parents and primary prevention to reduce HPV-related cancers

Background School health care continues to transform as health care innovations and vaccine science evolve. School based research that examines the role of these innovations plays an essential role in primary prevention. Primary prevention measures for school children, including the HPV vaccine; decrease HPV-related cancers. But many parents remain misinformed about this primary prevention measure against cancer. Purpose The purpose of this study was to 1) identify parents' perceived vulnerability of HPV infection and HPV-related cancers for their children and 2) identify demographic and health behavior correlates of HPV vaccination. Significance The HPV vaccine was approved for children as young as age 11 (girls 2006 and boys 2009) but HPV vaccine use has remained very low while this age range ( 11 to 12 years) is when the vaccine is most effective. Methodology This school based descriptive research was conducted in collaboration with school nurses, leadres and elementary and middle schools. Over 500 parents/caregivers with children ages 9 to 13 completed an anonymous survey (developed by the Principal Investigator) with acceptable validity/reliability, Cronbach Alpha of 0.96. Findings/Results Significant associations were found for disagreement with the following perceived vulnerability questions: HPV can cause cervical cancer, required vaccines protect children from getting disease from nonvaccinated children, and the HPV vaccine could prevent future problems for my child. Final analysis is pending. Conclusions/Recommendations Data from this research can inform primary prevention and promote important collaborations among school nurses, school officials, health care providers and parents to reduce HPV -related cancers.