HPV & Cervical Cancer Educational Pack Launched

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Article Date: 24 Aug 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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The Royal Society of Health (RSH) is delighted to announce the launch of the HPV & Cervical Cancer: What you & your pupils need to know a FREE curriculum linked teaching & learning resource, with nearly 11,000 copies being distributed across the UK.

Professor Richard Parish RSH Chief Executive said: "Education is at the heart of successful interventions to improve the public's health. This new resource aims to raise awareness and understanding of HPV and cervical cancer within a broader sexual health context and empower young people to take informed action to protect their health."

"The thirst for information is overwhelming. Over 50 000 copies of the Society's general information leaflet have been requested and it is predicted nearly half of all secondary schools across the UK will be directly reached by the teaching & learning resource."

A reception to mark the launch of the teaching and learning resource will be held on 20th August at The Royal Institute of Public Health, with guest speaker Sandra Gidley MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Spokesperson.

Professor Parish continues: "Immunisation and vaccination provide an essential tool in improving public health and the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme is a hugely significant step. However, success requires an investment not just in vaccine delivery, but also in the health promotion measures necessary to create a supportive educational and organizational environment. Education is not an 'add-on', but a pre-requisite."

The Royal Society of Health, a major public health body, has brought together education and heath professionals and young people as an independent steering group, with an educational grant from Sanofi Pasteur MSD, to develop this resource.

Sir Ronald De Witt, Chair of the RSH HPV education programme steering group said:

"This is an excellent example of collaboration between a charity and the private sector which has very much been in the public interest. We have also ensured close consultation with the public sector. All in all this is a high quality resource to meet a high public demand for information."

Notes

1. The launch is on 20th August, 15:00-17:00 at The Royal Institute of Public Health, 28 Portland Place, London, W1B 1DE 10min from Oxford & Great Portland St tube (map), speeches at 15:30

2. The Royal Society of Health (RSH) will be merging with the Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH) shortly to become the Royal Society for Public Health

3. The new organisation has recently been granted a Royal Charter

4. The RSH is managing a national HPV education programme funded through an educational grant from Sanofi Pasteur MSD

5. HPV & Cervical Cancer teaching and learning resource and the HPV & Cervical Cancer: The Basics leaflet are available for download at http://www.rsph.org/policy/HPV/HPV_default.asp

6. The Learning Resource will be of interest to PSHE teachers, school & practice nurses, Healthy Schools coordinators, local school improvement teams, local health promotion teams, sexual health teams and pharmacists.

7. The resource pack includes a comprehensive teacher's guide and four complete lesson plans together with supporting source material and IWB Power Point presentations for use in the context of personal, social and health education, sex and relationship education and the science curriculum.

The Royal Institute of Public Health