NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1: Boosting HPV Vaccination in Semi-Rural Communities: A Targeted Health Promotion Plan for Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
Introduction
HPV remains a highly preventable cause of some cancers, yet HPV vaccination rates- particularly in adolescents and young adults- remain below public health targets. In towns, such as Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, which are semi-rural, grouping of the children in their own classes is considered as the practice.
Health promotion research shows that low-than-average vaccination coverage, misinformation and inadequate access to care coupled with cultural reluctance are creating unnecessary health risks.
In young people, aged 11 to 26, timely immunization would provide immunization to HPV-related ailments, such as cervical cancer, anal cancer, and oropharyngeal cancer. There are still gaps in knowledge and access and many are not getting protection. This study in NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1 will look at the local effect of HPV on the community in Schwenksville, discover the barriers to vaccination in the area, and provide viable, culturally aware ways to address the issue to improve the rate of HPV vaccination.
Community Profile and Vaccination Landscape
Schwenksville which is in Montgomery County has a population of about 1,500. The largest majority of residents are white of middle-income level, and their provision with health is based mostly on health promotion through schools or community-based education. Although the average HPV vaccination completion rate in Pennsylvania among adolescents aged 13 17 is 68.7 % (PA.gov, 2025), the HPV vaccine completion rate in Schwenksville is only 48.7 %.
This gap is caused by a number of local challenges:
- Access barriers: There are transport handicaps and poor healthcare infrastructure that limit routine care.
- Provider Influence: Produce weak or mixed provider recommendations or vaccine believes lower vaccines.
- Cultural and informational barriers: Parents find it awkward to discuss immunization that is related to sexual health and many parents do not have proper knowledge about the risks of cancer of HPV.
In NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1, It is highlighted that parents have significant influence in the healthcare choices of the adolescents, there should be targeted reach out to both the youth and their parents with the intention of clear, respectful, and factual messages.
Addressing Gaps in Data and Understanding
Essentially, due to the fact that there are no HPV-specific data available on Schwenksville, this analysis refers to the patterns observed in other similar rural locations in Pennsylvania to guide health promotion practice. Where these similarities are helpful, there may be special differences in levels of education, religious orientation, and experience in prior health campaigns. Gathering locally-specific health information would enable still greater and more effective intervention design, as emphasized in NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1.
Cultural Sensitivity in HPV Promotion
The intervention plan needs to be adapted to a conservative atmosphere that influences healthcare decision-making and shapes the health promotion meaning within that society. This includes:
- Messages aimed at the family as opposed to targeting youth-only campaigns.
- Collaborations with the local schools, churches, and local organizations to communicate information in trusted settings.
- Adoption of non-stigmatizing language, terms that are relatable when talking about the benefits of the vaccine and why it is needed.
Culturally-sensitive approaches may have the potential to normalize HPV vaccination as a standard way of preventing cancer as opposed to a controversial decision.
Understanding the Stakes: Why HPV Prevention Matters
HPV is the most widespread sexually transmitted disease in the U.S., and intractable infection can cause life-threatening cancers years thereafter, highlighting the need for examples of health promotion to prevent its spread. Unvaccinated communities, such as Schwenksville, are at a greater risk of contracting an illness that could otherwise be prevented and less scrutiny toward a community with low vaccination coverage can increase healthcare costs in the long-term.
A multi-pronged approach that integrates education, enhanced access to healthcare, and outreach tailored to culture and tradition will help to increase vaccination rates, protect society, and enhance community health equity, as highlighted in NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1.
Barriers Driving Local Health Disparities
Research identifies some of the related challenges in the HPV prevention efforts in Schwenksville:
- Difficult access to healthcare because of distance, transport and a lack of adolescent-specific providers.
- Both parents and teens had low health literacy, and thus were susceptible to misinformation.
- Cultural stigma about the vaccine being associated with sex, which incites wonder.
- Weakness of prolonged community health education initiatives, which minimize the chances of reminding the correct information.
Discussion of such issues needs to be done within several-layered, community-based interventions that reflect health promotion practice aimed at long-term influence.
SMART Goals for an Effective HPV Health Promotion ProgramGoal 1: Improve HPV awareness
- Target: 90 percent participants will be able to remember 3 or more important HPV facts following a session.
- Target: To decrease misinformation and enhance informed choice.
Goal 2: Promote vaccination on time
- Target: 80 percent of those who are enrolled or are the guardians schedule the first dose within 30 days.
- Purpose: Increased awareness translation into action.
Goal 3: Achieve confidence in HPV talks
- Target: 85 of attending people would be reporting having become more comfortable in discussing HPV and vaccine after the educational sessions.
- Purpose: Equip the family to be able to have an open and stigma-free dialogue.
A progress is measurable by conducting surveys, vaccination appointment records, and follow-up remittance.
Conclusion
In NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1, The problem discussed is that HPV vaccination is a clinically proven life-saving tool but in the semi-rural location of Schwenksville, cultural concerns, and the system of primary healthcare had failed to protect a vast number of young people. The community can address these challenges by adopting culturally friendly, family-based interventions that can be based on SMART goals and increase the level of vaccination in the community and serve as an example to others like it. “Access to correct information, convenient services, and reposed faith among the locals can turn HPV-related cancer prevention from a problem into a probable success story in the public health scenario, serving as strong examples of health promotion.
References
Bowden, S., Doulgeraki, T., Bouras, E., Markozannes, G., Athanasiou, A., Grout-Smith, H., Kechagias, K. S., Zuber, V., Chadeau-Hyam, M., Flanagan, J. M., Tsilidis, K. K., & Kyrgiou, M. (2023). Risk factors for human papillomavirus infection, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer: An umbrella review and follow-up Mendelian randomization studies. BMC Medicine, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02965-w
Datausa. (2023). Schwenksville, PA | Data USA. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/schwenksville-pa Kim, S., Ou, L., Larkey, L., Todd, M., & Han, Y. (2023). Developing a culturally and linguistically congruent digital storytelling intervention in Vietnamese and Korean American mothers of human papillomavirus–vaccinated children: Feasibility and acceptability study. JMIR formative research, 7, e45696. https://doi.org/10.2196/45696
NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1 Health Promotion Research
Lipsky, M. S., Wolfe, G., Radilla, B. A., & Hung, M. (2025). Human papillomavirus: A narrative review for dental providers in prevention and care. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(3), e439. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22030439
Magana, K., Strand, L., Love, M., Moore, T., Peña, A., Ito Ford, A., & Vassar, M. (2023). Health inequities in human papillomavirus prevention, diagnostics and clinical care in the USA: A scoping review.
Sexually Transmitted Infections, 99(2), 128–136. https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2022-055587. PA.gov. (2025). Dear VFC provider.
NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1
https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/programs/immunizations/3.3.25%20-%202025%20HPV%20Call-to-Action%20Letter%20and%20Resources. pdf
Schlecht, N. F., Diaz, A., Nucci-Sack, A., Shyhalla, K., Shankar, V., Guillot, M., Hollman, D., Strickler, H. D., & Burk, R. D. (2021). Incidence and types of human papillomavirus infections in adolescent girls and young women immunized with the human papillomavirus vaccine. JAMA Network Open, 4(8), e2121893. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.21893
NURS FPX 4055 Assessment 1 Health Promotion Research
Zhang, L., Yang, J., Cao, Y., & Kang, W. (2023). Sociocultural–psychological predictors influencing parents’ decision-making regarding HPV vaccination for their adolescent daughters in mainland China: An extended TPB model. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1035658
