First Of Its Kind: HPV Resource Created For Adolescents And Parents

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 08 Apr 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Educating preteens and teenagers about their sexual health is no easy task, even for many health care professionals. The Association of Women' s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) hopes to change that, at least when it comes to talking about the human papillomavirus (HPV), with its newly released resource, " HPV Counseling: A Clinician Resource." The booklet is designed to serve as a guide for nurses and other health care providers when speaking to adolescents and their parents about what can often be a sensitive subject.

"While much has been written about HPV," said Barbara Moran, PhD, CNM, President of AWHONN, "there was nothing geared specifically toward counseling adolescents and their parents. Obviously, talking to a 9-year-old about HPV is very different from talking to an 18-year-old, yet those conversations need to be happening at an early age," says Moran.

The resource defines adolescents as females between the ages of 9, when the HPV vaccination may first be given, and 21, when "late bloomers" are completing the last stages of adolescent development.

"As nurses who deal with women's health issues on a daily basis, we found that there was a great need for factual, age-appropriate information about HPV," said Moran. "As educators and patient care advocates, our job is to help patients and families better understand the virus, its impact and methods of prevention."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 20 million Americans currently have HPV, and another 6.2 million people contract it each year. Furthermore, according to a recent CDC study, HPV, which causes virtually all cervical cancer, is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teenage girls ages 14 to 19.

"The new AHWONN resource guides health care providers on how to present information about HPV and the HPV vaccine in a manner that is sensitive to the health care needs, life experience, cultural context and age of the learner to help ensure optimal outcomes for all women," according to resource author, Sue A. Woodson, CNM, MSN.

Along with background information on HPV, the 54-page booklet tackles the "how to" of what to say to adolescents and their parents, and includes sample scripts as well as handouts for preteens, teens and their parents about HPV and the HPV vaccine. The resource provides continuing education credit for nurses and certified nurse-midwives.

The resource is available for purchase through the AWHONN online store.

Find more at the AWHONN HPV practice resource center.

About AWHONN

The Association of Women' s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) is the foremost nursing authority that advances the health care of women and newborns through advocacy, research and the creation of high quality, evidence-based standards of care.

AWHONN' s 22,000 members worldwide are clinicians, educators and executives who serve as patient care advocates focusing on the needs of women and infants. A leader in professional development,

AWHONN is the first and only association to be awarded the designation Premier Provider by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for innovation and excellence in Continuing Nursing Education.

AWHONN was founded in 1969 as the Nurses Association of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The association became a separate nonprofit organization called the Association of Women' s Health and Neonatal Nurses in 1993.

Association of Women' s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses