Rural life is a choice made by 1 in 5 people, but they don’t choose to be at higher risk of cancers, including HPV cancers. We must do more to make sure those living in rural America are protected. People living in rural areas possess many strengths. It is these same strengths that can make them feel invincible when it comes to cancer, but that is not the case. HPV vaccination is cancer prevention for people living in rural communities, too. We must work with people in rural communities to understand how to change the pattern of low HPV vaccination rates and high HPV cancer rates.
Preventing HPV Cancers with Rural Communities: Quarterly Updates and Opportunities
Join us for our 2025 rural HPV vaccination quarterly updates meetings. These meetings will feature progress on priority action items and showcase successful efforts to promote HPV cancer prevention with rural communities. Register here.
Wide Open Spaces is a series that began in early 2023 and is featured in our program’s monthly newsletter. The articles include contributions from healthcare providers, academics, and community leaders who are working with rural communities to improve HPV vaccination rates and reduce HPV cancers. We welcome guest contributors to share their experiences and strategies. If you are interested in contributing, please email us at PreventHPV@stjude.org.
St. Jude's quarterly meeting shared updates on rural HPV vaccination progress, featuring new resources and policy changes. Jason Semprini, PhD discussed the disparities in HPV cancer rates between rural and urban areas. Additionally, Sara Lolley, MPH presented on a Social Media Influencer Campaign.
St. Jude's quarterly meeting reported progress on rural HPV vaccination, including new resource materials and policy updates. Dr. Semprini highlighted rural-urban disparities in HPV cancer incidence. ACS Emerging Leaders presented barriers and future opportunities from their qualitative study.
During this meeting, we discussed updates regarding the priority action steps and heard presentations from Sara Lolley of AAP, who discussed strategies for supporting pediatricians in boosting HPV vaccination rates, and Kim Wolfe from Unity Consortium, who discussed UC’s Adolescent Immunization Action Week 2024.
During our inaugural quarterly updates meeting, we unveiled the six priority action steps aimed at mitigating HPV-related cancers in rural areas proposed by the Rural Think Tank. Key presentations by Christina Turpin and Jennifer Nkonga from the American Cancer Society shed light on crucial topics, including "National Partnerships for Rural HPV Vaccination" and "Geographic Disparities: Special Projects & Future Directions."
St. Jude convened a think tank of key thought leaders and partners to discuss and catalyze efforts to improve HPV cancer prevention with rural communities. From March to August 2023, the think tank met to recommend priority action steps.
The priority action steps are:
Promote starting HPV vaccination at age 9 in rural communities. One particularly promising approach supported by the think tank is starting HPV vaccination at age 9. The National HPV Vaccination Roundtable has developed a suite of resources to promote starting at age 9. We will focus on how these existing materials may be appropriate for rural communities and explore adapting for greater relevance.
Compile and share existing resources for addressing HPV vaccination with rural communities. We can act now by using existing materials as we develop new and adapt existing resources. This will include identifying existing best practices, such as programs, interventions, campaigns, and other activities that are already working.
Develop or adapt health care provider and health care professional HPV vaccination training resources for those serving rural communities. A strong recommendation from a health care provider is a strong predictor of HPV vaccination coverage. This remains true in rural communities as well. We will compile existing training resources as a starting point and then adapt for rural-serving health care providers.
Explore policy influences on HPV vaccination in rural areas. Policies at different levels influence vaccination coverage. We will explore strategies for recommended policies to support efforts. We have previously examined policies, in general, that drive HPV vaccination coverage, which will serve as a starting point.
Develop, test, and disseminate easy-to-use messages for rural audiences. We know one size does not fit all when it comes to rural communities. However, messages that resonate with rural life are likely to be more effective. We will focus on developing such messages.
Review and update existing resources and data on HPV vaccination and HPV cancers in rural communities. Previous publications and reports on the status of HPV vaccination and HPV cancers in rural communities require updating and more regular monitoring. We understand such resources are useful for focusing our efforts and also tracking progress.
The St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program is implementing programming and activities in line with these action steps to improve HPV vaccination coverage with rural communities. We will continue to work with thought leaders and partners in these efforts. We welcome your participation and engagement.
