Human Papillomavirus Education and Professional Skills Intervention for Healthcare Providers: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is an effective way to prevent HPV and its associated cancers. Provider recommendation has been shown to be one of the most successful strategies for increasing uptake of the HPV vaccine; however, more training and resources are needed to help boost healthcare providers’ confidence and communication skills in recommending the HPV vaccine to their patients, particularly in underserved Hispanic communities where vaccination rates among all ages are lower. OBJECTIVE Improve provider recommendations and patient communication strategies, using motivational techniques to increase education in HPV knowledge, vaccine uptake, and screening in the Hispanic community by recruiting healthcare providers (N = 150) serving the El Paso US-Mexico Border Region to compare educational and professional skills interventions focused on HPV. METHODS We will conduct a randomized post-test only controlled behavioral trial using a parallel group design that will examine the effectiveness of a fully automated culturally tailored HPV education and professional skills intervention containing unique reading material and video role-play. RESULTS Chi-square analyses will be used to assess associations between variables reported on the baseline provider knowledge, attitudes, and practice scales. CONCLUSIONS Current study protocol outlines the methods deployed in the first-ever clinical trial to be conducted regarding HPV communication practices with healthcare providers in the US-Mexico border region. CLINICALTRIAL NCT05120869