Evaluating the Effectiveness of Human Papillomavirus Educational Intervention among Oral Health Professionals

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention that was designed to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) awareness and knowledge among oral health providers (OHPs). HPV educational lectures and a dental information toolkit on HPV were offered to OHPs in New England in 2016-2017. OHPs included dentists and dental hygienists. Post intervention surveys were distributed 1 month later. A total of 230 participants attended the educational lectures and received the toolkit. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the difference in knowledge and preparedness about HPV before and after the intervention. Eighty-nine OHPs completed the surveys. The response rate was 38.7%; however, for each question, the number of responses varied. Fifty-four (54%) (n = 26) of survey respondents were between 55 and 75 years of age with 73.5% (n = 36) being female and 55% (n = 45) working in private practice. Post intervention, 67.5% (n = 27) of the respondents felt more prepared, 82.6% (n = 38) reported clarity of their roles in educating their patients about HPV, and 91.6% (n = 44) reported an increase in knowledge about HPV. The HPV educational intervention was well received and successful at improving self-reported knowledge, comfort level, and preparedness of OHPs in discussing HPV with their patients. OHPs have the great opportunity to educate their patients about HPV and HPV vaccination. Further continuing education efforts may improve OHPs' participation in HPV prevention.

Educating healthcare providers to increase Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates: A Qualitative Systematic Review

“… Author Population Intervention Educational content Outcome Recommendations Pre-/post-intervention survey studies Kumar et al [48] MD, RN, Residents, allied health professionals 20-min training video with clinical vignettes HPV knowledge, vaccine efficacy in adolescent, addressing concerns of vaccine-hesitant parents Improved knowledge (HPV prevalence in males, age-based variation in vaccination response), attitude, and comfort with counselling Even after watching the video, over half of the providers find that HPV’s sexual transmission makes it difficult to discuss and other modalities of training is needed. Clinical vignettes to model helpful counseling strategies is effective Suryadevara et al [49] Healthcare providers, nurses, office staff On-site educational sessions with booklets Vaccine hesitancy, HPV disease and HPV vaccine, role of HPV vaccine in cancer prevention Across six sites, vaccine series completion rates post intervention increased by 12–20% for 11- to 12-year-olds, and from 7–23% for 13- to 18-year old Use of a general cancer prevention education booklet that bundles all 5 cancer prevention topics is effective Stronger recommendations are needed for male adolescents Shukla et al [50] Oral health professionals 2-hr structured presentation Role of HPV in oropharyngeal cancers, HPV vaccinations, and how to recommend Self-reported ↑ interaction with patients about HPV and vaccination (37%), 67% vs. 26% felt prepared in talking about HPV before/after training, greater clarity in their role in educating their patients about HPV, an increase in knowledge about HPV HPV education for oral health professionals is needed Clarifying provider’s role in educating their patients about HPV should be included in educational interventions Berenson et al [46] MD, MS 30-minute structured presentation Unspecified Knowledge scores improved from 8–15 (out of 16) post-intervention Address knowledge gaps in incidence of cervical cancer in Hispanic women Address knowledge gaps in dosing interval and schedule, and age for vaccination. Reiter et al [47] MD, parents, school staff 30-minute structured presentation Prevalence...…”

“…who focused on providers and staff, and Shukla et al . who focused on oral health professionals, both utilized an educational lecture followed by CDC-based information booklet that providers can use to educate and distribute to their patients [49] , [50] . Suryadevara et al .…”

USA dental health providers’ role in HPV vaccine communication and HPV-OPC protection: a systematic review

“…Five studies utilized a theoretical framework to drive study questions. [22][23][24][25][26] The majority of articles (6) were interested in outcome variables as they related to general patients, 1 of patients and parents, 1 of female patients, and 2 of adolescents.…”

“…22,24,27,29 Two studies demonstrated gaps in providers' knowledge about HPV vaccines. 22,24 Specific knowledge deficits included a lack of awareness concerning improvements in the current HPV vaccine protection against an increasing number of target HPV strains, 24 HPV vaccination recommendations by age group, gender or reimbursement method, names of marketed HPV vaccines 24 and the availability Florida-based dentists (n = 17) and dental hygienists (n = 21) Shepperd, 2013 28 Cross-sectional, online survey F, M 929 Florida dentists randomly selected from three regions based on the Agency for Health Care Administration's regional boundary lines Daley, 2014 22 Cross-sectional, online survey F, M 210 Florida-based dentists Hosking, 2017 27 Cross-sectional, in-person survey F, M 64 Attendees from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) annual meeting for graduate and associate program directors Thompson, 2017 19 Qualitative, focus groups F 48 National sample of dental hygienists recruited via email Daley, 2018 26 Cross-sectional, in-person survey F, M 182 Dentists (n = 36) and dental hygienists (n = 146) recruited from regional dental conference Kline, 2018 23 Mixed methods: qualitative focus groups and quantitative in-person surveys F, M 284 Dentists (n = 70) recruited from regional conference in Southeastern US and dental hygienists recruited from national conference (n = 214)…”

The role of dental professionals in managing HPV infection and oral cancer

“…HPV education proved to be successful at increasing self-reported knowledge in dental professionals. 26 In the clinical applications regarding HPV-associated cancer and vaccine administration in oral health, students were assessed in two dental schools. The role of oral health professionals and the correlation coefficient regarding knowledge of HPV vaccinations among students was 0.71, and was 0.85 for vaccine administration, clearly illustrating the deficit in knowledge around HPV vaccinations.…”