Rural life is a choice made by 1 in 5 people, but they don’t choose to be at higher risk of cancers, including HPV cancers. We must do more to make sure those living in rural America are protected. People living in rural areas possess many strengths. It is these same strengths that can make them feel invincible when it comes to cancer, but that is not the case. HPV vaccination is cancer prevention for people living in rural communities, too. We must work with people in rural communities to understand how to change the pattern of low HPV vaccination rates and high HPV cancer rates.
Wide Open Spaces is a new series of articles to be included in our program’s monthly newsletter starting this month. These articles will address ways to improve HPV vaccination with rural communities. We invite guest contributors to share information on how they are working to improve HPV vaccination in rural areas. If you are interested in contributing, please email us at PreventHPV@stjude.org.
Wednesday, August 21. 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CT/12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
During the next quarterly meeting, we will discuss St. Jude’s progress on the six action steps to enhance HPV vaccination rates in rural communities. The meeting will also feature presentations from distinguished experts on HPV vaccination in rural settings.
This meeting featured presenters sharing their invaluable insights on enhancing HPV vaccination rates within rural communities.
In our latest update on Preventing HPV Cancers with Rural Communities, held on February 21, we highlighted the critical need to boost HPV vaccination rates in rural areas.
In January, the St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program hosted an introductory rural HPV vaccination meeting. This meeting brought together thought leaders, allies and partners interested in improving HPV vaccination with rural communities. The meeting featured ignite-style talks by six experts in rural health, rural cancer prevention and HPV vaccination. Participants discussed thoughts and next steps for how to move forward in improving HPV vaccination coverage in rural areas.
St. Jude convened a think tank of key thought leaders and partners to discuss and catalyze efforts to improve HPV cancer prevention with rural communities. From March to August 2023, the think tank met to recommend priority action steps.
The priority action steps are:
The St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program is implementing programming and activities in line with these action steps to improve HPV vaccination coverage with rural communities. We will continue to work with thought leaders and partners in these efforts. We welcome your participation and engagement.
For more information, email PreventHPV@stjude.org.