An exploration of the current HPV education provision for 15-16 year old adolescents in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland

Background:
The impact of sexually transmitted infections remains high in adolescents with high-risk strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) leading to the development of various cancers. While, HPV school-based vaccination programmes offer the HPV vaccine to students 12-13 years old, adolescents’ knowledge of HPV remains low.

Aims
- Establish the need for HPV education at 15-16 years old to provide students with HPV information, their vaccination status and the opportunity to receive the HPV vaccine through self-consent.
- Develop a HPV intervention based on a systematic review and results from focus groups and interviews.

Methods:
Between January 2021 and August 2022, focus groups and interviews were conducted throughout Northern Ireland, UK, with immunisation nurses (IMNs), post-primary school nurses and teachers, and 15-16 year old students.

Results
Twenty-six IMNs, 12 teachers, 6 school-based nurses and 34 students participated. The COM-B model was utilised to establish barriers/facilitators to HPV education delivery. Participants supported the addition of mandatory HPV education at 15-16 years old. Identified barriers included lack of parental education, school ethos/religion and insufficient education regarding consent legislation. Participants indicated that a non-judgemental health professional would ideally deliver this interactive intervention. IMNs were highly motivated to design/deliver this education.

Conclusion:
Participants agreed that the implementation of this HPV education, alongside removal of identified barriers, would lead to safer sexual practices and increased HPV screening awareness and vaccination uptake. Recommendations provided by participants need to be supported by the Education Authority in conjunction with the Department of Health in order to be successfully implemented.