The George Washington University School of Nursing invites you to attend the dissertation defense of Min Jeong (Jaime) Jeon, MSN, RN, APRN, CPNP-PC. Ms. Jeon will be presenting her dissertation research entitled, HBM-Based Educational Text Messages to Improve HPV Awareness, Knowledge, and Vaccination Intention: A Proof-of-Concept Student among Korean Young Adults Living in the United States.
 

Abstract

Significance:  Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection poses a significant risk for cervical cancer, particularly affecting Koreans in the United States (US) who experience higher incidence and mortality rates compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Despite this disparity, addressing HPV within the Korean/Korean-American community is often overlooked, compounded by low awareness and knowledge of HPV and its vaccine among this population. Health messaging, using theory and popular channels, can bridge this gap, offering a targeted tech-driven approach to enhance message effectiveness and foster behavior change. 

Objective: This study aimed to develop and pretest theory-based educational text message to enhance HPV-related outcomes among non-HPV-vaccinated Korean young adults (aged 18-26) in the US, while assessing their reception.

Methods: Text messages, guided by constructs from the Health Belife Model (HBM), were refined through qualitative interviews (inclusive orf cognitive response testing) and survey data involving 10 Korean young adults. A set of 9 messages, deployed over four days, as pre-tested among a convnience sample of Korean young adults. Changes in awareness, knowledge, and vaccination intention were measured using paired t-tests and McNemar's test. Descriptive statistics were conducted for acceptability and fasibility measure.

Results: Among 53 screened, 44 enrolled. Pre-post increases were observed in awareness of "HPV" and the "cervical cancer vaccine" (p = .006 and p = .039, respectively), knowledge of "HPV", "HPV vaccine", and "cervical cancer" (all ps < .001), and vaccination intention for HPV (p = .031). Posttest results reveal3ed participants' receptivity to the text messages with ≥ 83% expressing approval, finding them appealing, and indicating ease of use.

Conclusions: This proff-of-concept study demonstrated early feasibility and high acceptability of theory-based educational messaging among Korean young adults in the US. The observed improvement in HPV-related outcomes suggest the potential efficacy of the HBM-based text message in fostering preventive health practices, warranting further investigation througha pilot intervention.
 

Dissertation Committee Co-Chairs 

Kathleen Griffith, PhD, MPH, FNP-BC, FAAN
Associate Dean for Research
Professor (Tenured)

Daisy Le, PhD, MPH, MA
Assistant Professor