An increase in HPV-related knowledge and vaccination intent among parental and non-parental caregivers of adolescent girls, age 9-17 years, in appalachian Pennsylvania

A theory and community-based educational intervention was designed to increase HPV-related knowledge and intent to vaccinate adolescent girls, against human papillomavirus (HPV) in Appalachia, a region with high cervical cancer incidence and mortality. An HPV educational session was conducted with immediate pre-/post-test questionnaires and 1-month follow-up telephone interview. McNemar tests and paired t tests evaluated change in individual knowledge variables and change in overall knowledge and intent to vaccinate against HPV, respectively. Of 117 attendees, 38 (32.5%) were parents of vaccine-eligible daughters and 79 (67.5%) non-parental caregivers. HPV-related knowledge increased for all participants (p>0.0001) and among parents (p>0.0001). Intent to vaccinate daughters within 1 month increased among parents (p=0.002). Of nine (23.7%) parents who completed the follow-up interview, 100% reported the intervention as helpful and 44.4% reported that they started vaccination. Our education intervention was associated with increased HPV-related knowledge and intent to vaccinate girls in Appalachia against HPV.