Factors Associated with School Nurses' and Personnel's Professional Practice to Encourage Parents to Vaccinate Against Human Papillomavirus.

BACKGROUND: School nurses and personnel play a vital role in promoting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with school nurses' and personnel's professional practice to provide parents with HPV vaccine information and to encourage parents to vaccinate their child against HPV. METHODS: School nurses and personnel from Ohio and Missouri completed a survey to assess their professional practice in providing HPV vaccine information and encouraging parents to vaccinate their child against HPV. Independent variables included demographics, HPV knowledge/attitudes, perceptions of their as an opinion leader for the HPV vaccine, self-efficacy to provide vaccine education, and perception of school district support. RESULTS: Providing parents with HPV vaccine information was predicted by age, role within the school, grade-serving, knowledge, perceptions, self-efficacy, and district support; accounting for 38% of the variance (p < .000, R2 = .38). Encouraging parents to vaccinate their child against HPV was predicted by perception, self-efficacy, and grade-serving; accounting for 39% of the variance (p < .000, R2 = .39). CONCLUSIONS: To enhance school nurses' and personnel's professional practice, interventions should focus on nurses' and personnel's perception of their role as opinion leaders and self-efficacy to provide HPV education and vaccine recommendation.

Effects of an Online Educational Module on School Nurses' Knowledge of HPV Vaccination.

BACKGROUND: Results of a previous state-wide survey revealed generally low knowledge levels about HPV vaccination among school nurses in Missouri. A short, online educational module targeted to address the specific low-scoring items was then created. METHOD: All 440 lead school nurses in Missouri were invited by e-mail to participate in an online HPV educational module and study. The e-mail contained a link to the module that included a consent form, a test, and a downloadable completion certificate. The test consisted of 12 multiple choice and true-or-false items based directly on the content contained in the module. An independent samples t test was used to determine pre-post differences in mean test scores. RESULTS: Scores improved significantly (p < .05) pre-post intervention; however, surveillance or epidemiology-related questions were still commonly missed. CONCLUSION: Using brief, targeted, online trainings to improve knowledge of specific health-related content may be a practical option for busy school nurses. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(9):431-436.

Level of Integration of Community Health Workers in Missouri Health Systems.

The purpose of this study was to describe the level of integration of community health workers (CHWs) into Missouri public healthcare systems using a cross-sectional survey research design. Representatives of all Missouri Local Public Health Agencies, Rural Health Clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers were pre-contacted by telephone to provide the electronic mail of the most knowledgeable person in the facility/location to complete a brief electronic survey on their use of CHWs. 103 representatives of the 273 (37.7% response rate) contacted from the health systems completed the Profile of Community Health Workers in Missouri Health Systems to assess role, professional development, and information needs of CHWs used in the key informants' agencies. An Abridged Survey was created for participants who responded to the survey but indicated that CHWs were not currently working for their organization. Descriptive statistics and measures of central tendency were computed. Only 16% (16/103) of participants noted that CHWs were employed in their organizations; and most CHWs connected people with services, served low-income and rural populations, and addressed heart disease issues. Participants who did not currently employ CHWs indicated they did not anticipate needing them in the near future. Of those utilizing CHWs, most perceived CHWs have a vital role in healthcare (M = 4.27/5.0, SD = 0.64) but securing sustainable funding for CHWs was challenging (M = 4.18/5.0, SD = 0.87). Utilization of CHWs in Missouri healthcare systems is limited. If their role in Missouri healthcare systems is to expand, a campaign to educate on their role and value is needed.