Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Addressing Vaccine Knowledge and Hesitancy in African Refugees

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus that can cause many cancers. Although HPV vaccines have proven beneficial in preventing some cancers and some countries have noticed a sharp decline in HPV infection where there is high vaccine coverage, many parents still choose not to vaccinate their children. The State of Utah is home to many refugees including African refugees where negative perceptions and language barriers might contribute to the hesitancy of using the HPV vaccine. The challenge is to find the right educational approach to increase HPV vaccine awareness. A fotonovela, a form of an illustrated pamphlet, has been used in the past to educate about the HPV vaccine in a Hispanic community. This media was found to be a useful tool to teach various levels of literacy in a more interactive way than printed wording materials. As it has been a successful tool in teaching Hispanic immigrants about the HPV vaccine, it has been adapted in this project to assess if it is an appropriate method to educate African refugees about HPV and the vaccine. The fotonovela contained photos of various community members of different ethnicity, some of which were known to the participants. A paired t-test was done to evaluate this teaching tool in addressing HPV vaccine knowledge. The evaluation tool showed an average score difference of 1.33 (t statistics = -3.46, p = 0.0018), indicating that African refugees' vaccine knowledge increased due to the usage of the fotonovela.