Despite increases in cervical cancer screening in the past few decades, African American women have substantially higher rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality than white women. Persistent infection with high-risk types 16 and 18 of human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to cause 70% of cervical cancers. Since 2006 the FDA has approved two vaccines developed to prevent cervical cancer caused by these high-risk types of genital HPV. Clinical trials have demonstrated these vaccines to be nearly 100% efficacious in preventing infection of HPV types 16 and 18, precancerous cervical disease, and resulting cervical cancer. According to the 2009 National Immunization Survey, rates of initiation of the HPV vaccine were similar for African American and white girls (44%), but rates of completion of the three required doses were lower for African American versus White girls (23% and 29%, respectively). Increasing uptake and completion of the HPV vaccine series among African American girls will reduce rates of cervical cancer among African American women, which in combination with continued Pap testing, can eventually reduce racial disparities in cervical cancer. As a hypothesis-driven research project under the Cancer Outreach Core, we propose to develop and test the feasibility and impact of a culturally-appropriate social marketing intervention targeting African American girls and their parents to increase utilization and completion of the HPV vaccine series. The proposed project follows the model of Community-Based Prevention Marketing as described by Bryant and colleagues, which combines social marketing theories and techniques with community-based participatory research approaches to guide the planning and implementation of evidence-based strategies for addressing public health concerns.
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