Launch of HPV website for families and professionals
A new website to help young people and their parents find out more about the HPV vaccine is now available.
The HPV Inform website will help to tackle HPV vaccine misinformation and give families the information they need to make decisions to protect their children’s health.
Research carried out in Stoke-on-Trent found that young people and their parents don’t know enough about the vaccine which aims to protect against cancer and other serious health conditions.
It also found that anti-vax sentiment and cultural and religious beliefs were contributing to low take-up of the vaccine which is offered to pupils in high school – the number of young people getting the vaccine is about 20 percent below national average for both males and females.
The HPV vaccine helps to protect against human papillomavirus – a very common group of viruses which is usually spread through direct skin to skin contact, especially during sexual activity. Although not everyone exposed to it will develop symptoms or an infection, in extreme cases it can cause genital warts and cancers including cervical cancer, mouth cancer and cancers affecting the genitals in males and females.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Public Health team enlisted VAST’s Community Health Champions (CHC) project to understand why more young people in the city weren’t getting the HPV vaccine.
A project report made a number of recommendations designed to improve the take up of the vaccine locally. These include the creation of myth busting videos presented by people from a broad range of communities which directly address their concerns.
The new website created by the Health Protection Unit in Evaluation and Behavioural Science at the University of Bristol includes resources developed for young people, for parents and carers, for professional and communities.
This includes videos to answer questions young people may have about the HPV vaccine and prepare them to have the vaccine at school as well as videos to help address concerns parents/carers may have about the vaccine. Other resources include lesson plans about the HPV vaccine for use by schools and healthcare professionals plus a helpful Q&A section.