Abstract
Hispanic women have more than a 1.5-fold increased cervical cancer incidence and mortality compared to non-Hispanic white women in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control recommends the HPV vaccine for females at ages 11 and 12 years, though it is approved for females aged 9–26 to protect against the primary types of high-risk HPV (HPV-16 and HPV-18) that cause approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases. Few culturally-tailored Spanish HPV vaccine awareness programs have been developed. This study evaluates the efficacy of a Spanish radionovela as an educational tool. Rural Hispanic parents of daughters aged 9–17 (n = 88; 78 mothers and 10 fathers) were randomized to listen to the HPV vaccine radionovela or to another public service announcement. Participants completed a 30 min pretest posttest questionnaire. Parents who listened to the HPV radionovela (intervention group) scored higher on six knowledge and belief items. They were more likely to confirm that HPV is a common infection (70% vs. 48%, P = .002), to deny that women are able to detect HPV (53% vs. 31%, P = .003), to know vaccine age recommendations (87% vs. 68%, P = .003), and to confirm multiple doses (48% vs. 26%, P = .03) than control group parents. The HPV vaccine radionovela improved HPV and HPV vaccine knowledge and attitudes. Radionovela health education may be an efficacious strategy to increase HPV vaccine awareness among Hispanic parents.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
National Cancer Institute. SEER cancer statistics review, 1975–2006. Bethesda, MD. http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2006/.
Adams, E. K., Breen, N., & Joski, P. J. (2007). Impact of the national breast and cervical cancer early detection program on mammography and Pap test utilization among white, Hispanic, and African American women: 1996–2000. Cancer, 109(2 Suppl), 348–358.
US Food and Drug Administration. (2006). FDA licenses new vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer and other diseases in females caused by human papillomavirus. Silver Spring, MD: FDA News.
US Food and Drug Administration. (2009). FDA approves new vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer. Silver Spring, MD: FDA News.
National Cancer Institute. (2008). Human papillomaviruses and cancer: Questions and answers. Bethesda, MD. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/HPV. Reviewed 13 Dec 2010.
Sherris, J., Friedman, A., Wittet, S., Davies, P., Steben, M., & Saraiya, M. (2006). Chapter 25: Education, training, and communication for HPV vaccines. Vaccine, 24(Suppl 3), S3/210–S3/218.
Ackerson, K., & Gretebeck, K. (2007). Factors influencing cancer screening practices of underserved women. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 19(11), 591–601.
Flores, K., & Bencomo, C. (2009). Preventing cervical cancer in the Latina population. Journal of Womens Health (Larchmt), 18(12), 1935–1943.
Schiffner, T., & Buki, L. P. (2006). Latina college students’ sexual health beliefs about human papillomavirus infection. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 12(4), 687–696.
Bair, R. M., Mays, R. M., Sturm, L. A., Perkins, S. M., Juliar, B. E., & Zimet, G. D. (2008). Acceptability to Latino parents of sexually transmitted infection vaccination. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 8(2), 98–103.
Fernandez, M. E., McCurdy, S. A., Arvey, S. R., et al. (2009). HPV knowledge, attitudes, and cultural beliefs among Hispanic men and women living on the Texas-Mexico border. Ethnic Health, 14(6), 607–624.
Vanslyke, J. G., Baum, J., Plaza, V., Otero, M., Wheeler, C., & Helitzer, D. L. (2008). HPV and cervical cancer testing and prevention: Knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes among Hispanic women. Qualitative Health Research, 18(5), 584–596.
Scarinci, I. C., Garces-Palacio, I. C., & Partridge, E. E. (2007). An examination of acceptability of HPV vaccination among African American women and Latina immigrants. Journal of Womens Health (Larchmt), 16(8), 1224–1233.
Watts, L. A., Joseph, N., Wallace, M., et al. (2009). HPV vaccine: A comparison of attitudes and behavioral perspectives between Latino and non-Latino women. Gynecologic Oncology, 112(3), 577–582.
Meade, C. D., Calvo, A., & Rivera, M. (2002). Screening and community outreach programs for priority populations: Considerations for oncology managers. Journal of Oncology Management, 11(5), 20–28.
Engle, L. (2001). HIV and older adults: A novela approach. The Body Positive, 14(9), 24–30.
Lalonde, B., Rabinowitz, P., Shefsky, M. L., & Washienko, K. (1997). La Esperanza del Valle: Alcohol prevention novelas for Hispanic youth and their families. Health Education and Behavior, 24(5), 587–602.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. New routes to community health. SALUD: Healing through the ARTs. http://www.newroutes.org . Accessed 6/1/2010.
Northwest Communities Education Center. Novela Health Education. (2010). http://www.kdna.org.
Villasenor, M., & Sabido, M. (1982). Handbook for reinforcing social values through day-time serials. Mexico City, Mexico: Mexican Institute of Communication Studies.
US Census. (2002). Detailed tables: Yakima county. American fact finder. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census.
Boiko, P., Katon, W., Guerra, J. C., & Mazzoni, S. (2005). An audiotaped mental health evaluation tool for Hispanic immigrants with a range of literacy levels. Journal of Immigrant Health, 7(1), 33–36.
Marin, G., Sabogal, F., Marin, B. V., Oterosabogal, R., & Perezstable, E. J. (1987). Development of a short acculturation scale for Hispanics. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9(2), 183–205.
Gerend, M. A., Weibley, E., & Bland, H. (2009). Parental response to human papillomavirus vaccine availability: Uptake and intentions. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(5), 528–531.
Hughes, J., Cates, J. R., Liddon, N., Smith, J. S., Gottlieb, S. L., & Brewer, N. T. (2009). Disparities in how parents are learning about the human papillomavirus vaccine. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers and Prevention, 18(2), 363–372.
de Visser, R., & McDonnell, E. (2008). Correlates of parents’ reports of acceptability of human papilloma virus vaccination for their school-aged children. Sexual Health, 5(4), 331–338.
Wong, L. P. (2009). Preventing cervical cancer through human papillomavirus vaccination: Perspective from focus groups. Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, 13(2), 85–93.
Abraido-Lanza, A. F., Chao, M. T., & Florez, K. R. (2005). Do healthy behaviors decline with greater acculturation? Implications for the Latino mortality paradox. Social Science and Medicine, 61, 1243–1255.
Acknowledgments
Dr. Kepka gratefully acknowledges funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Education and Career Development Program (R25 CA92408) as a Biobehavioral Cancer Prevention and Control Pre-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Health Services at the University of Washington and at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She has also received funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (T32 HS013853) for some of the work on this study. The Radionovela to Address Cervical Cancer and the HPV vaccine for Rural Hispanics was a Supplemental Pilot Project to NIH/NCI funded by the Community Network Program, Hispanic Community Network to Reduce Cancer Disparities (U01 CA114633). Lastly, the authors gratefully acknowledge Radio KDNA in Granger, Washington and the research staff for the Radionovela project for their time, positive energy, and hard work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kepka, D., Coronado, G.D., Rodriguez, H.P. et al. Evaluation of a Radionovela to Promote HPV Vaccine Awareness and Knowledge Among Hispanic Parents. J Community Health 36, 957–965 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9395-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9395-1