The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can protect against two types of HPV that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases. While it is important for girls and women to receive all three doses of the vaccine, they do not always complete all three in the series. Completion requires girls to return to the clinic twice to receive the second dose at 2 months and the third dose at 6 months after the original dose. To help prevent cervical cancer, researchers at the University of Kentucky PRC developed and tested 1-2-3- Pap, an educational video that encourages young adult women in rural Appalachian Kentucky to complete the series.

Out of 178 young women who watched the educational video, 77 completed the vaccine series. In contrast, among another group of 166 young women who received standard care and did not watch the video, only 53 completed the series. Researchers found that participants who viewed the video were more than twice as likely (2.44 times) to complete the series than those who received standard care.

The University of Kentucky PRC is working with partners to adapt this model so it can be repeated in other underserved areas with high rates of cervical cancer. The program was adopted by 18 local health departments in Kentucky, reaching a total of 41 counties. This successful distribution led to requests from North Carolina and West Virginia for assistance in developing versions tailored to their states. The West Virginia version was widely distributed by the West Virginia Immunization Network. An article about the outreach for and implementation of the 1-2-3 Pap  video program was published in the August 2015 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

In addition, Why Cancer Is So Hard to Fight in Rural Kentucky aired on PBS NewsHour which highlighted this research.