Results of a Health Education Message Intervention on HPV Knowledge and Receipt of Follow-up Care among Latinas Infected with High-risk Human Papillomavirus

Abstract

A clinic-based intervention study was conducted among high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV)-infected Latinas aged 18–64 years between April 2006 and May 2008 on the Texas-Mexico border. Women were randomly assigned to receive a printed material intervention (n=186) or usual care (n=187) and were followed at three months, six months, and 12 months through telephone surveys and review of medical records. The HPV knowledge of nearly all women had increased greatly, but only two-thirds of women reported they had received follow-up care within one year of diagnosis regardless of additional health education messaging. Our findings suggest that, regardless of type of health education messaging, Latinas living on the Texas-Mexico border are aware that follow-up care is recommended, but they may not receive this care. Individual, familial and medical care barriers to receipt of follow-up care may partially account for the higher rates of cervical cancer mortality in this region.

Interventions to increase follow-up of abnormal cervical cancer screening results: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis

“…Many of the studies focused on the follow-up of women in low-resource populations/settings. Of the 28 studies included for data extraction, 10 focused on interventions directed towards low-income populations [ 20 , 22 , 23 , 26 , 31 , 34 , 35 , 38 , 42 , 46 ], five addressed follow-up for racial minorities [ 21 , 24 , 30 , 40 , 43 ], one focused on addressing follow-up of women older than 65 years of age [ 33 ] and three served a combination of minority and low-income populations [ 28 , 32 , 39 ]. Nine of the studies did not describe a specific patient population group [ 19 , 25 , 27 , 29 , 36 , 37 , 41 , 44 , 45 ].…”

“…The majority of the studies focused on addressing follow-up for women with abnormal Pap test results (cytology) and two focused on women who had abnormal HPV testing results [ 37 , 40 ]. Two did not specify the type of abnormal result [ 26 , 33 ] and one focused on abnormal VIA results [ 29 ].…”

“…Patient navigation was the most common type of intervention implemented in the studies we reviewed. Of the included 28 studies, 10 did not use navigation [ 20 , 23 , 25 , 29 , 32 , 36 – 38 , 40 , 41 ] and 18 used navigation, including nine studies funded as part of the National PNRP supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) [ 48 ]. This program uses navigators to address and overcome barriers to cancer screening and follow-up.…”

“…Some of the publications were from sites that participated in a nine-site national research program developed to overcome barriers in delays in cancer care, targeting populations that are more vulnerable such as Hispanic-Latina and Black populations. The intervention delivery strategies included text messages [ 37 ], letters [ 25 , 29 , 36 , 40 , 41 ], phone calls [ 26 , 38 ], processes embedded within the electronic medical record [ 23 ] and combinations of multiple communication styles (n = 19). Most of the interventions addressed changes at the patient level (n = 25), one focused on educating family members [ 29 ] and two addressed barriers for medical providers [ 23 , 35 ].…”

Results from brief educational intervention and health screenings: A community health study of Latinos in Southwest Florida

“…Several studies looked at knowledge level among Latinos on gamut of health-related topics such as oral health, ocular health, diabetes risk, and cancer. [ 24 25 26 27 28 ] However, educational interventions to improve knowledge levels were limited and only included patients already seeking healthcare and lacked diversity in sample characteristics. [ 29 30 31 ]…”