A Multicultural, Multilingual HPV Vaccine Education DVD for Diverse Populations

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this study is to develop and evaluate a multicultural, multilingual DVD designed to promote health literacy about the HPV vaccine and foster informed HPV immunization decisions among parents of girls and girls ages 9-17 at high risk for HPV infection: Koreans, Vietnamese, Filipinos, African Americans, Latinos and low-income whites. This study will focus on one of those target populations: Latinos. The specific aims of this study are to: (1) identify HPV vaccine literacy levels, attitudes, perceptions and information sources among parents of girls 9-17 old, (2) identify cultural values, beliefs, and practices that influence attention, comprehension, perception and evaluation of HPV vaccine information intended to inform an immunization decision, (3) identify specific themes, message elements and communication strategies for a patient-centered intervention that enhances comprehension of the risks and benefits of the vaccine and its health implications to adequately inform an immunization decision, (4) assess the accessibility of DVD technology and its acceptability as the medium for an HPV vaccine education intervention to parents of preadolescent girls and adolescent girls and (5) develop a prototype DVD to asses the feasibility using this medium to deliver comprehensible, culturally competent, health literacy information on HPV immunization. The HHS Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities calls attention to the gaps in access to preventive health resources, principally among racial and ethnic minorities. This study to assess the feasibility of developing a multicultural, multilingual HPV education intervention through DVD technology responds to the National Cancer Institute's program on Interactive Media Technologies in Cancer Prevention, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control to promote the use of innovative media technology and/or communication approaches in cancer prevention and control applications used in medical and community settings. The study employs focus groups and cognitive interviews to identify cognitive and affective factors that impede or promote an informed HPV immunization decision. It will accrue 64 Latina parents of preadolescent girls and 64 Latina adolescent girls ages 13-17 from urban and rural settings to participate in 12 focus groups and 32 individual interviews; half of the focus groups and interviews will be conducted in Spanish. Focus group data collection will be augment through the use of a short questionnaire to obtain qualitative data regarding knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and prior behaviors related to HPV, cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This health literacy study addresses the need for multilingual, multicultural, HPV vaccine education materials to empower individuals at high risk for HPV infection to make an informed immunization decision, which offers a significant public health benefit.