Educating School Nurses about Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Associated Cancers and the Importance of HPV Vaccination

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To assess and improve school nurse knowledge of HPV-associated cancers.

Design

An experimental quality improvement study.

Methods

At a continuing education regional conference, an interactive HPV education session was provided. Pre- and post-education surveys were completed by attendees.

Findings

After the educational intervention, 89.9% of nurses indicated a change in knowledge and 83.2% indicated a planned change in practice.

Conclusions

An education intervention aimed at school nurses can be impactful in broadening the understanding of HPV oncogenesis.

Clinical Evidence

Educational interventions can be a strategy to increase school nurse knowledge and subsequently patient knowledge about HPV associated cancers.

Author contribution

Each author substantially contributed to the conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data. Each author contributed to the drafting and revising of content, and gave final approval, thereby agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of work.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This project was completed with funding from the 2019 AHNS Community grant.