Abstract
Each year in the U.S., approximately 13,000 new cases of cervical cancer are reported. Prolonged HPV infections cause up to 90% of cervical cancer cases. The HPV vaccine is considered the primary prevention of cervical cancer and is most effective in early adolescence before any exposure to HPV. Unfortunately, about one-third of adolescents have not received the recommended doses of the HPV vaccine in California, leaving them vulnerable to long-term outcomes of HPV infections. This project will explore strategies mitigating barriers to primary prevention of cervical cancer, focusing on HPV vaccination of adolescents ages 10-14. Sac PATH is a multi-level intervention to increase the number of students within the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) who initiate and complete the HPV vaccine series. School-based HPV vaccination programs are successful when designed with multiple strategies, including health education, tracking vaccination status, and providing vaccines on-site. This intervention focuses on local-level strategies allowing for potential replication in other urban areas with a strong connection to the local health department.