The human papillomavirus (HPV) infects approximately 14 million people annually. a crucial role of all health care providers is to reduce the risk of exposure through primary prevention. In order to lessen the risk of people contracting the virus, education regarding the virus must be passed from health professionals to patients – primary the first interaction via the nursing staff. This will in turn – provides the opportunity to increase vaccination rates, increase HPV knowledge, and confirm information about the virus. Using evidence-based practice to answer questions is a vital component for nursing interactions in a clinical setting. However, they must be educated foremost to achieve appropriate outcomes. Delivering fact-based information helps thwart parents and patients from believing false information. Having nursing staff participate in educating parents – as opposed to only the healthcare provider – helps improve the information that parents receive and helps parents make informed decisions for their adolescent. The Larrabee Model for Evidence-Based Practice Change outlines the approach to enhance the education process for the nursing staff at the selected pediatric clinic. EBS resources and the incorporation of nursing staff provide a multi-person approach and reduce previously failed approaches to provide accurate education. The evidence-based framework model selected helped identify the foundation of the project in order to produce best possible outcomes. The method used included a pre-test questionnaire, PowerPoint educational in-service, and a post-test questionnaire. Through a pre-test questionnaire, the nursing staff answered questions related to HPV, the vaccine, and statements related to the virus. A post-test questionnaire following the intervention was used to evaluate and determine if knowledge increased because of the educational intervention. The results of the questionnaire displayed growth, but through interaction via the inservice, this signified that the base knowledge of nursing staff is limited in relation to HPV and the HPV vaccine. Scores from pret-test questionnaires to post-test questionnaires increased by 57%. This project identified the lack of education the nursing staff has received about HPV and the vaccine, and how improving knowledge can affect long-term manangement of nursing staff to further educate their patient population. In conclusion, including the nursing staff and utilizing rapport built with parents will further influence parents and patients to make informed decisions can based on evidence-based information. Informed patients can accomplish several things: they can prevent parents them from potentially making misinformed judgements, can increase vaccination rates, and can overall increase cognizance of a virus that affects persons on a global level.
