Reducing the Rate of HPV Infection

PICOT: HPV
One nursing practice that is supported by the evidence in articles from the literature review is that increasing HPV health literacy among students will help to promote HPV vaccination and thus reduce the risk of the spread of HPV infection (Perkins, Chigurupati, Apte, 2016; Lamb, Herweijer, Ploner et al., 2018). By increasing health literacy and the advancement of knowledge and information among the target population (high school students), the target population is more likely to be informed of the risks of not getting vaccinated for HPV, how the vaccinations work, and why the spread of HPV should be a concern to them in the first place (Perkins et al., 2016; Lamb et al., 2018). Possible consequences of failing to adopt the strategy of increasing health literacy regarding the evidence-based practice of HPV vaccination, which is an effective strategy for mitigating the risk of the spread of HPV (Lamb et al., 2018), are that students will fail to realize the significance and importance of addressing this issue and taking it seriously enough to take steps to safeguard and protect themselves. Uninformed students are unlikely to be safe and the more they learn about HPV and the HPV vaccination, the more likely they are to receive it.
I would disseminate information about this evidence-based practice throughout a school by printing off pamphlets, leaflets and fliers that can be posted in a school, on a bulletin board, or displayed in a school nursing office, where students may see it. If students have access to an Intranet, information could also be passed via Intranet email in the school.
Communication could also be achieved by having a presentation for students at the high school so that they are allowed face-to-face time with a registered nurse and can ask questions or hear real life stories about what HPV can do and why it is a good idea, based on the research, to get an HPV vaccination. This type of face-to-face presentation can really be impactful and promote positive outcomes because it supports the spread of health literacy in a direct way that cannot be reproduced in the simple dissemination of literature. Individuals can engage in a two-way flow of communication in which information is presented and questions are answered. This can greatly facilitate the educative effect that health literacy aims to achieve.
Communicating the importance of increasing health literacy about HPV vaccinations could be communicated through the use of nursing associations, nursing blogs, nursing bulletin boards, and nursing publications. The more that nurses themselves engage in continuing education, the more likely it is that they will appreciate the message about how health literacy can be used to help reduce the risk of the spread of HPV among students.
The PICOT question for this paper is: In high school students, will distributing information about HPV vaccine, decrease the prevalence of teen HPV infections?
The PICOT question’s significance for to the nursing practice can be found in the fact that HPV infections are a health care concern that nurses must address, and distributing information about the HPV vaccine is a type of health literacy that nurses can engage in to help address the issue and reduce the rate of infection. As the literature shows, the HPV vaccine is effective in helping to reduce the risk of infection (Lamb et al., 2018), and the use of health literacy is effective in spreading knowledge and raising awareness about the issue of HPV and how vaccinations can help to prevent it (Perkins et al., 2016).
In the study by Perkins et al. (2016), the researchers found that a failure of communication is often what led to a failure to vaccinate for HPV. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews and analyzed transcripts using content analysis to identify themes to explain why teenage girls were not receiving HPV vaccinations. The conclusion they reached was that “most failure to complete the HPV vaccine series occurred because providers expected parents to make appointments while parents expected to be reminded” and the recommendation that the researchers gave was that “increased use of reminder/recall systems and clear communication of expectations regarding appointment scheduling could improve completion rates” (Perkins et al., 2016, p. vi).
One nursing practice that is supported by the evidence of the article by Perkins et al. (2016) is that communicating with individuals who could benefit from the HPV vaccination is important in ensuring that the vaccines are received. When health care providers do not follow up with patients or increase their level of health literacy, there is more risk to the patients that they will not receive their vaccination and may be infected by HPV as a result.
In the study by Lamb et al. (2018), the researchers found that “a two-dose schedule for qHPV vaccine with 4-7 months between the first and second doses may be as effective against condyloma in girls and women initiating vaccination under 20 years as a three-dose schedule.” The researchers conducted a register-based nationwide open cohort study in Sweden in order to determine the effectiveness of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine, by time since first vaccine dose, in girls and women initiating vaccination before age 20 years.
One nursing practice that is supported by the evidence of the article by Lamb et al. (2018) is that vaccinating for HPVis an effective strategy in mitigating the risk of the spread of HPV. The study shows that when girls are vaccinated, the risk of developing condyloma is mitigated significantly and thus nurses should promote vaccination among target patients.
The evidence-based practice of increasing health literacy to promote vaccination for HPV contributes to a better outcome because it can help to safeguard and protect patients from HPV infection. It is a preventive measure and serves as an example of how preventive care can be practiced. Potential negative outcomes that could result from failing to use the evidence-based practice are that the risk of spreading HPV is not mitigated and more patients become infected, which can lead to a variety of health-related issues.
The strategy for disseminating the evidence-based practice of increasing health literacy is to share this information with colleagues in workplace environments, through conference attendance and participation, social media usage (linking to pages that promote health literacy and HPV vaccination), spreading information at work and pasting items of interest to the bulletin board at work or in the break lounge where such items may be shared. Administrators may also help in the dissemination of information as they can be asked to help spread the word about the positive outcomes associated with increasing health literacy about HPV vaccinations. I would move from disseminating the information to implementing the practice within my organization by having printed-off info available for patients at all times so that they may be educated with reading material and I would be available to answer any questions they might have as well.
References
Lamb, F., Herweijer, E., Ploner, A., Uhnoo, I., Sundström, K., Sparén, P., & Arnheim-
Dahlström, L. (2018, January 12, 2018). Timing of two versus three doses of quadrivalent HPV vaccine and associated effectiveness against condyloma in Sweden: a nationwide cohort study. BMJ, 1-8. Retrieved from http://bmjopen.bmj.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/content/7/6/e015021
Perkins, R. B., Chigurupati, N. L., Apte, G., Vercruysse, J., Wall-Haas, C., Rosenquist,
A., … Pierre-Joseph, N. (2016). Why don’t adolescents finish the HPV vaccine series? A qualitative study of parents and providers. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 12(6), 1528–1535. http://doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/21645515.2015.1118594
URL: https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pmc/articles/PMC4964719/