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A doctor and a family wear face masks in a health care clinic.

Is your clinic looking for ways to improve HPV vaccination rates?

Enroll your primary care clinic in our study.

This study addresses the communication needs of both vaccine providers and parents. Your participation will help researchers identify effective training to increase HPV vaccine uptake in clinics like yours. Enrolled clinics will be randomized to compare the effectiveness of two virtual vaccine communication trainings versus a control group.

All study activities will be conducted virtually. The control group will receive the training at the end of the study.

Who Can Volunteer?

  • Family medicine and pediatric clinics located in Pennsylvania with at least 100 active patients, ages 11 to 14. We plan to enroll 45 clinics in this study.
  • All clinic staff are encouraged to participate including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, administrative assistants and any other interested staff.

What Will Participants Do?

  • Complete a study screener to determine eligibility.
  • If your clinic is eligible, invite up to 6 staff to participate.
  • Intervention clinics will participate in 8 one-hour live sessions over a 4-month period.
  • Your clinic may receive a set of electronic notices to be sent to parents of children who are not vaccinated.
  • Complete a 15-minute baseline and final evaluation survey.

What Will Participants Receive?

  • Up to 8 no-cost CMEs will be available to participants who attend live virtual sessions.
  • Pediatricians and family medicine physicians may elect to receive no-cost MOC Quality Improvement (Part IV) points.
  • Participants who complete the baseline and final evaluation surveys will be compensated $50 per survey ($100 total).
  • Compensation is available for clinics experiencing any barriers (e.g., funding to cover loss of clinic time) to participating.

Learn More

Meet the Study Director

William A. Calo, PhD, JD, MPH

Dr. Calo is an assistant professor in Penn State College of Medicine’s departments of Public Health Sciences & Family and Community Medicine.

His research interests include:

  • Vaccine communication
  • Cancer prevention
  • Reduction of health disparities among minority and rural populations

Explore more about Dr. Calo’s research

A head-and-shoulders professional photo of William A. Calo, PhD, JD, MPH

Contact Dr. Calo

Email: wcalo@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Phone: 717-531-3535

Mail: Dr. William Calo
90 Hope Drive
Mail Code A210
Hershey, PA 17033

Meet the Study Team

  • Jennifer Kraschnewski, MD, MPH
    • Director of Penn State Project ECHO
    • Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine
  • Mack Ruffin, MD, MPH
    • Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine
  • Ben Fogel, MD, MPH
    • Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Penn State College of Medicine
  • Parth Shah, PharmD, PhD
    • Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences & the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  • Jennifer Moss, PhD
    • Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine & Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine
  • Bernice Hausman, PhD
    • Chair, Department of Humanities, Penn State College of Medicine
  • Nikole Johnston
    • Cancer Control Strategic Partnerships Manager at American Cancer Society
This research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board, under federal regulations at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine as IRB #15734.