In Tarrant County, as in other Texas counties, disparities in cervical cancer mortality and incidence persist among some populations, underscoring the need to promote community knowledge of the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) and informed decision making about the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.

To increase HPV vaccination among girls ages 9-17 years in Tarrant County, a combination of interventions are proposed, including community outreach, social media and clinical inreach. The community outreach is aimed at increasing community knowledge and demand for the HPV vaccine and is comprised of several interventions, including small group discussions with caregivers of adolescent gi...

Read More

In Tarrant County, as in other Texas counties, disparities in cervical cancer mortality and incidence persist among some populations, underscoring the need to promote community knowledge of the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) and informed decision making about the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.

To increase HPV vaccination among girls ages 9-17 years in Tarrant County, a combination of interventions are proposed, including community outreach, social media and clinical inreach. The community outreach is aimed at increasing community knowledge and demand for the HPV vaccine and is comprised of several interventions, including small group discussions with caregivers of adolescent girls led by a lay health educator, informational sessions with teenage girls, and presentation of information at community events. Facebook will be used to facilitate collaboration and interaction among mothers in Tarrant County, encouraging them to advocate for their daughters’ health. In the clinical setting, we will recruit a number of primary care clinics through the Vaccines for Children Program providers and the North Texas Primary Care Practice-Based Research Network to create a clinical environment that is supportive of patient-provider communication regarding the virus and vaccine.All prevention activities are targeted to caregivers of African American and Hispanic girls and to the adolescent girls, are grounded in a theoretical framework, and leverage multiple existing resources so as to avoid duplication.

The proposed project provides a unique and timely opportunity to build on 3 previous studies of our target population through the development and implementation of an integrated approach that links major community-based organizations and an academic health center in a sustainable network committed to reducing cervical cancer disparities. This network will serve as infrastructure for other cancer prevention outreach in Tarrant County and may serve as a model for other counties in Texas.

Read Less