HPV Vaccination and Health Literacy in High School Students
This paper presents a PICOT question exploring whether distributing information about the HPV vaccine to high school students can decrease the prevalence of teen HPV infections. Drawing on two peer-reviewed studies — Perkins et al. (2016) and Lamb et al. (2018) — the paper establishes that communication failures are a primary barrier to vaccine completion and that the quadrivalent HPV vaccine is effective in reducing condyloma risk. The paper proposes concrete dissemination strategies, including pamphlets, face-to-face presentations, intranet communications, nursing publications, and social media, as evidence-based approaches for improving HPV health literacy and promoting vaccination among adolescents.
- Introduction and PICOT Question: PICOT question linking HPV information to teen infection rates
- Evidence from the Literature: Findings from Perkins et al. and Lamb et al. studies
- Dissemination Strategies for Health Literacy: Pamphlets, presentations, and digital channels for outreach
- Implementing Evidence-Based Practice: Applying health literacy strategies in clinical settings
- Conclusion: Preventive care outcomes and organizational implementation steps
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds every claim directly in cited evidence, consistently linking the PICOT question back to two specific peer-reviewed studies.
- Balances theoretical justification (why health literacy matters) with concrete, practical dissemination strategies nurses can realistically implement.
- Clearly articulates potential negative outcomes of inaction, giving the argument a preventive-care framework that strengthens clinical relevance.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective PICOT question construction and integration: each major claim is mapped back to the structured question (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time), and study findings are used to validate specific components of that question. This is a core competency in evidence-based nursing practice.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by identifying the evidence-based practice (increasing HPV health literacy), then introduces the PICOT question and justifies its nursing significance. It follows with a study-by-study literature review, drawing one key nursing implication from each article. It then outlines dissemination strategies (printed materials, presentations, nursing associations, digital channels) before describing how the author would move from information sharing to active clinical implementation. A brief conclusion ties outcomes back to preventive care principles.
Introduction and PICOT Question
The PICOT question for this paper is: In high school students, will distributing information about the HPV vaccine decrease the prevalence of teen HPV infections?
One nursing practice supported by the evidence in the literature is that increasing HPV health literacy among students will help promote HPV vaccination and thus reduce the risk of HPV infection spreading (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 — that 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 evidence-based HPV vaccination — which is an effective strategy for mitigating the risk of HPV transmission (Lamb et al., 2018) — are that students will fail to recognize the significance of the issue and will not take steps to protect themselves. Uninformed students are less likely to seek vaccination, and the more they learn about HPV and the HPV vaccine, the more likely they are to receive it.
The significance of this PICOT question for nursing practice lies in the fact that HPV infections are a healthcare concern that nurses must address. Distributing information about the HPV vaccine is a form of health literacy that nurses can engage in to help reduce the rate of infection. As the literature shows, the HPV vaccine is effective in reducing the risk of infection (Lamb et al., 2018), and health literacy is effective in spreading knowledge and raising awareness about HPV and how vaccination can help prevent it (Perkins et al., 2016).
References
Lamb, F., Herweijer, E., Ploner, A., Uhnoo, I., Sundström, K., Sparén, P., & Arnheim-Dahlström, L. (2018, January 12). Timing of two versus three doses of quadrivalent HPV vaccine and associated effectiveness against condyloma in Sweden: A nationwide cohort study. BMJ, 1–8.
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/10.1080/21645515.2015.1118594
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