An evaluation of printed HPV educational materials.

Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) and is likely the most common STI in the United States.1-4 Genital HPV infection is an important public health concern because persistent oncogenic (also called high-risk) HPV infection is the main etiologic factor for cervical cancer, causing almost 100% of all cervical cancer cases worldwide.5-13 Information about HPV infection is often confusing to patients and health information seekers, especially given the currently low levels of HPV knowledge among adults and inherently complex characteristics of HPV.14-18 For this reason, information on HPV can also be challenging for clinicians to convey to patients.16-27 HPV educational materials should be a viable source of accurate and meaningful information for women and should complement clinician counseling to reinforce important HPV information and to assist women with medical decision making. The purpose of this study was to formally evaluate printed HPV educational materials by determining the readability, suitability, and HPV content of existing, printed HPV educational materials selected by the authors.