Use of community forums to increase knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer in African American communities

This study is a one-group pretest –posttest study design using a 17-item questionnaire to collect data from 412 participants in diverse communities. Our analyses revealed perceived knowledge increased significantly after the forums for African American participants. For African Americans, perceived knowledge prior to the forums wa s explained by gender, access to care, and trust in clinical trials. After the forum, perceived knowledge was associated with access to care and trust in vaccines. Participants who had health insurance reported higher perceived HPV and cervical cancer knowledge and greater trust in vaccines. This st udy found community forums that address the cultural and historical context of research mistreatment related to HPVV development and include diverse racial/ethnic representation of stakeholders may be a useful strategy to increase HPVV, and cervical cancer knowledge in African American communities.
Source: Journal of Community Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research