title: A cervical cancer curriculum for Hispanic adolescents in rural high schools: a pilot study.
abstract: We assessed the effectiveness of a one-hour curriculum about cervical cancer for high school students. The curriculum was developed and delivered to 142 female students in the 9th to 12th grade at two high schools in rural Eastern Washington State. Self-administered questionnaires assessed changes in knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes related to cervical cancer and Pap smears. Baseline results from a predominantly Hispanic adolescent sample (73%) indicated low pre-test knowledge and negative beliefs and attitudes. Post-test results indicated that there was a significant change in the intervention group for knowledge questions when compared with the control group. Only some changes to more positive beliefs and attitudes about cervical cancer and screening were significant in the post-test. The findings suggest that a culturally appropriate high school curriculum may inform young Hispanic women about important cervical cancer screening practices.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Seattle, USA.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tejeda
authors.forename: Beti
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Gloria D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Coronado
authors.forename: Jane Mitchell
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rees
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; D014626:Vaginal Smears