Abstract A28: Effects of an education intervention about human papillomavirus self-testing for healthcare providers
Authors: Katz Mira L. , Presser Brynne , Shoben Abigail , Ruffin Mack T1 , Paskett Electra D. 
Published: March 2017

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) self-testing is an emerging cervical cancer screening strategy. As interest continues to increase, it becomes important to educate healthcare providers about HPV self-testing. We report the findings of a brief education intervention about HPV self-testing for healthcare providers.

Methods: We conducted education sessions about HPV self-testing during 2015 with a convenience sample of healthcare providers and staff (n=33) from five federally qualified health centers in Appalachian Ohio. The session included an automated PowerPoint presentation that provided information about HPV infection and HPV-related diseases, current cervical cancer screening recommendations, HPV self-testing, and how to talk to women about HPV self-testing and self-test results. The presentation was designed to brief (15 minutes) and it was followed by a question and answer period. Participants attended a one-time session and completed pre and post-intervention surveys focused on knowledge and beliefs. We compared pre- and post-intervention responses using McNemar's chi-square test (binary variables) or the Wilcoxon signed rank test (continuous variables).

Results: All participants were non-Hispanic white with a mean age of 43.2 years. Most participants were female (88%), had at least a college degree (72%), and worked full-time (91%). The 33 participants included 20 nurses, 5 nurse practitioners, 5 medical assistants, and 3 other providers/staff (1 physician, 1 case manager, and 1 social worker).

The education intervention increased participants' knowledge. Participants answered an average of 4.67 of six knowledge items correctly on pre-intervention surveys and 5.82 items correctly on post-intervention surveys (p&lt;0.0001). The proportion of participants who answered all six knowledge items correctly increased substantially (pre-intervention=9% vs. post-intervention=82%, p&lt;0.0001). The intervention also affected many of the beliefs examined. Compared to pre-intervention surveys, participants more strongly believed on post-intervention surveys that it is important to examine HPV self-testing as a potential cervical cancer screening strategy, their female patients would be willing to use an HPV self-test at home by themselves, and that they have the knowledge to talk with their patients about HPV self-testing (all p&lt;0.05).

Conclusions: A brief education intervention may be a low-cost and potentially effective strategy for increasing knowledge and affecting beliefs about HPV self-testing among healthcare providers and staff. Findings will be highly valuable for planning and developing future HPV self-test programs that include a component for healthcare providers.

Citation Format: Mira L. Katz, Brynne Presser, Abigail Shoben, Mack T1 Ruffin, IV, Electra D. Paskett. Effects of an education intervention about human papillomavirus self-testing for healthcare providers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A28.