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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Evidence Tools
MCHbest. Childhood Vaccination with MMR, Flu, and HPV.

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Strategy. Health Education in Schools

Approach. Collaborate with schools to provide education on HPV to increase interest in vaccination.

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Overview. Collaboration between public health departments and schools on HPV education involves a joint effort to develop and deliver age-appropriate curriculum that informs students about the virus and the benefits of vaccination.[1] This collaboration is crucial because schools can reach a large population of adolescents at a key time for HPV vaccination, ideally before sexual debut.[2] Public health approaches to this collaboration often involve co-creating educational materials, training teachers to deliver HPV education effectively, and facilitating student access to HPV vaccination clinics at school.[3] Examples of successful programs include the "Let's Talk HPV" initiative by the American Cancer Society and "Empowering Your Teen to Make Healthy Choices" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC).[4] Peer-reviewed research suggests that school-based HPV education programs, particularly those co-created with educators and delivered by trained teachers, can increase student knowledge about HPV, improve attitudes towards vaccination, and ultimately lead to higher HPV vaccination rates.[5]

Evidence. Mixed Evidence. Strategies with this rating have been tested more than once with results that sometimes trend positive...

Access the peer-reviewed evidence through the MCH Digital Library or related evidence source.

Potential Data Sources. Data to support this strategy can be accessed through:

  • Pre- and post-education knowledge and attitude surveys
  • Parental convent and declination forms
  • Student and parent intent to vaccinate surveys

Outcome Components. This strategy has shown to have impact on the following outcomes (Read more about these categories):

  • Utilization. This strategy improves the extent to which individuals and communities use available healthcare services.
  • Access to/Receipt of Care. This strategy increases the ability for individuals to obtain healthcare services when needed, including preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services.

Detailed Outcomes. For specific outcomes related to each study supporting this strategy, access the peer-reviewed evidence and read the Intervention Results for each study.

Intervention Type. Health Teaching (Education and Promotion) (Read more about intervention types and levels as defined by the Public Health Intervention Wheel).

Intervention Level. Community-Focused

Examples from the Field. There are currently no ESMs that use this strategy. Search similar intervention components in the ESM database.

Sample ESMs. Here are sample ESMs to use as models for your own measures using the RBA framework (see The Role of Title V in Adapting Strategies).

Quadrant 1:
Measuring Quantity of Effort (“What/how much did we do?”)

  • Number of schools partnering to provide HPV education to students. (Measures school engagement and reach)
  • Number of teachers and school staff trained to deliver accurate and effective HPV education. (Assesses capacity for sustainable education)

Quadrant 2:
Measuring Quality of Effort (“How well did we do it?”)

  • Percent of HPV education sessions that adhere to best practices for comprehensive, age-appropriate, and medically accurate content. (Assesses quality of education)
  • Percent of schools that integrate HPV education into their standard health curriculum and sustain it over time. (Shows institutionalization of education)

Quadrant 3:
Measuring Quantity of Effect (“Is anyone better off?”)

  • Number of students who report increased knowledge and understanding of HPV and the benefits of vaccination after education sessions. (Measures impact on awareness)
  • Number of students who feel confident in their ability to make informed decisions about HPV vaccination after participating in education sessions. (Measures impact on self-efficacy)
  • Number of schools that achieve and maintain high HPV vaccination coverage rates among their student population. (Measures sustained impact on population health)
  • Number of cases of HPV-related cancers and diseases prevented in the long-term as a result of increased HPV vaccine uptake in adolescence. (Shows long-term health impact)

Quadrant 4:
Measuring Quality of Effect (“How are they better off?”)

  • Percent of students who report increased knowledge and understanding of HPV and the benefits of vaccination after education sessions. (Measures impact on awareness)
  • Percent of students who feel confident in their ability to make informed decisions about HPV vaccination after participating in education sessions. (Measures impact on self-efficacy)
  • Percent of schools that achieve and maintain high HPV vaccination coverage rates among their student population. (Measures sustained impact on population health)
  • Percent of cases of HPV-related cancers and diseases prevented in the long-term as a result of increased HPV vaccine uptake in adolescence. (Shows long-term health impact)

Note. When looking at your ESMs, SPMs, or other strategies:

  1. Move from measuring quantity to quality.
  2. Move from measuring effort to effect.
  3. Quadrant 1 strategies should be used sparingly, when no other data exists.
  4. The most effective measurement combines strategies in all levels, with most in Quadrants 2 and 4.

Learn More. Read how to create stronger ESMs and how to measure ESM impact more meaningfully through Results-Based Accountability.

References

[1] School-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and education programs - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[2] Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination: CDC Recommendations and Reports Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[3] Davies, C., Marshall, H. S., Zimet, G., McCaffery, K., Brotherton, J. M., Kang, M., ... & Stoney, T. (2021). Effect of a school-based educational intervention about the human papillomavirus vaccine on psychosocial outcomes among adolescents: analysis of secondary outcomes of a cluster randomized trial. JAMA network open, 4(11), e2129057-e2129057.

[4] Empowering Your Teen to Make Healthy Choices. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[5] Davies, C., Marshall, H. S., Zimet, G., McCaffery, K., Brotherton, J. M., Kang, M., ... & Stoney, T. (2021). Effect of a school-based educational intervention about the human papillomavirus vaccine on psychosocial outcomes among adolescents: analysis of secondary outcomes of a cluster randomized trial. JAMA network open, 4(11), e2129057-e2129057.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy, $3.5 M. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.