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I. Introduction Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine Cervical cancer

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I. Introduction

Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine

Cervical cancer is formed in the tissues of the cervix, an organ that connects the uterus and the vagina. Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections (Schiffman et. al., 2007). HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. According to the CDC, 75% of sexually active people aged 15-49 have the infection at some point in their lives. (CDC). Because HPV infection is usually asymptomatic, infected people do not know exactly when they get the infection. In most cases, the body is able to fight off the virus before any symptom. However, health problems such as genital warts and cancer may …show more content…

For example, Latinas have disproportionately higher rates of cervical cancer and are most likely to die from cervical cancer compared to non-Latina white women (CDC). In Harris County, the age-adjusted incidence rate of cervical for Hispanics was 17.3 percent in 2010, compared to 8.9 percent in non-Hispanic Whites (CPRIT, 2010).

Currently, cervical cancer is highly preventable. Nine out of ten women survive cervical cancer when it is caught and treated early (Texas Cancer). While annual pap smear is an important tool to detect cervical cancer, HPV vaccination in teenagers has been shown to decrease the rates of cervical cancer (Texas Cancer). As the current rate of HPV vaccination remains low, there is pressing need for an innovative solution to increase HPV vaccination among teenagers, especially those in high-risk groups such as Hispanics and African Americans.

PIG IN MUD

PIG in MuD serves as the overall framework to design our solution. As the final solution, we propose an HPV vaccine promotion campaign that will incorporate the ideas and solutions generated by our innovation tools.

II. Phrase the Question

The first step in PIG in MuD is to phrase a question. Based on personal interests and literature review, we decide to pursue the following question: how do we increase HPV vaccine intake among Hispanic teenagers aged 11-18 in Harris County

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