In order to ensure an informed decision among young women regarding Gardasil, proper education must be enforced within the sexual education classroom. In order to attain this goal, we must speak to individuals’ in charge of the educational curricula. This process may involve approaching individuals at the federal, provincial and/or municipal levels.
Before contacting policy makers, we should advocate for an enriched sexual education program and raise administrators and parents’ awareness towards the lack of education regarding HPV. Next, we should contact principles of schools, and eventually contact the various chairs and directors of education, within each municipality. From there, we can contact the province’s ministry of education and present our goals and recommendations pertaining to a properly administered sexual education class.
Each province in Canada consists of a minister of education. For example, the minister of education in Ontario is Kathleen Wynne. One of her main roles is to issue the curricula taught within primary and secondary schools. In order to make changes to the sex education program, it would be beneficial to contact her or the deputy minister of education, Steve Marshall. We can also contact individuals’ part of the education system at a municipal level, by targeting specific school boards. For example, we can contact trustee members of the Toronto District School Board. 22 public school trustees are elected during the municipal elections, in order to represent public school supporters in the City of Toronto. Monthly meetings take place between the trustee members, and it would be beneficial to raise the trustees awareness towards the benefits of enriching the sex education program. Finally, it would be beneficial to contact the director of education (Toronto district) Gerry Connelly, in order to achieve our goal.
It would also be beneficial for us to collaborate with the National Council of Family Relations (http://www.ncfr.org/about/index.asp) In the past, they have reported many issues with sex education (ie: teachers discomfort with teaching these materials) and they can help us to get our voices and opinions heard.
Finally, the sexual education curriculum within schools is based upon the sexual education material presented by Health Canada. Therefore, we would have to contact the Minister of Health, Community Acquired Infections Division and the Centre Infectious Disease Prevention and Control. Here we could express our concerns with regards to Gardasil, and the educational program’s lack of information concerning HPV as a disease.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Policy: Pap Tests for all Women
Pap tests are currently the only way to detect HPV in women. Women are supposed to get tested once a year from the time they are sexually active. This is crucial in reducing the number of HPV cases, and in and turn, the number of cervical cancer cases each year. The more women that are tested, the more chance there is of catching and treating HPV cases, and preventing cervical cancer. Unfortunatly, not all women are getting tested. This is for a number of reasons, but we are concerned with the fact that many women simply lack the money and resources to get a pap test.
We propose that pap tests be available to all women in Canada for free. Pap tests should be covered by the health care system, like other cancer and STI screening programs. Women who do not have access to a family doctor should have access to a clinic or hospital. This may require travelling clinics, or nurses and doctors who visit isolated and marginalized women living in rural areas or on native reserves a few times a year.
Women must be educated on need and importance of pap tests, and they need to know how they can go about getting tested. This can be done through campaigns in hospitals and clinics, and doctors should remind all women to get tested, just as women are reminded to get mammograms.
In order to introduce this policy, we would join forces with the Women's Health Network, which shares our values and they have knowledge and experience in the area of women's health, which would be greatly beneficial to us. We would need to seek the approval of provincial health ministers. This may mean having a trial in one or two provinces, with hopes of getting all on board. We could also start at a more local level, involving MPs who share our vision. That way we could see what parts of the policy work and what parts do not, and make necessary changes before going provincial or federal. Setting up an evaluation process would be necessary as well, especially if we are depending on funding from the government.We will also have to be aware of cultural and religious issues, as some groups may not welcome the idea of pap tests, and view them as unnecessary or envasive to women.
We propose that pap tests be available to all women in Canada for free. Pap tests should be covered by the health care system, like other cancer and STI screening programs. Women who do not have access to a family doctor should have access to a clinic or hospital. This may require travelling clinics, or nurses and doctors who visit isolated and marginalized women living in rural areas or on native reserves a few times a year.
Women must be educated on need and importance of pap tests, and they need to know how they can go about getting tested. This can be done through campaigns in hospitals and clinics, and doctors should remind all women to get tested, just as women are reminded to get mammograms.
In order to introduce this policy, we would join forces with the Women's Health Network, which shares our values and they have knowledge and experience in the area of women's health, which would be greatly beneficial to us. We would need to seek the approval of provincial health ministers. This may mean having a trial in one or two provinces, with hopes of getting all on board. We could also start at a more local level, involving MPs who share our vision. That way we could see what parts of the policy work and what parts do not, and make necessary changes before going provincial or federal. Setting up an evaluation process would be necessary as well, especially if we are depending on funding from the government.We will also have to be aware of cultural and religious issues, as some groups may not welcome the idea of pap tests, and view them as unnecessary or envasive to women.
Policy: Research
Analysis beyond clinical trials is critical to ensure public safety. Warns Lippman: "What happens in the real world can be very different from what happens in the clinical research world," where girls are in a controlled environment, and get health examinations frequently to gauge any problems. "The real world is where we find out what really happens when you let a vaccine loose on a population."
What the public needs to understand is that even if HPV vaccination progs continue to develop and expand, the public needs to know that young women can still develop HPV infection and cervical cancer after being immunized. Harper, the HPV researcher at Dartmouth, tells of a yet unpublished study that shows that if females aged 12-26 who are vaccinated don’t go get pap tests after the vaccine, the rate of cervical cancer will go up compared to pre immunization rates.. "So there is significant danger in people feeling this vaccine offers them a force field protection," says Harper, "and that could actually rebound back to us because there are other HPV types out there and they're not going to stop causing cancer just because we've given a vaccine."
Research studies such as the one aforementioned will eventually come to light in the years to come. It is up to the government of Canada to conduct studies in order to determine if the vaccine that they are purchasing is safe in the long term for females across the country. Whether or not this will happen is probably going to be determined by how many adverse reactions are reported in the future. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies have the money and the power to lobby for the implementation of their vaccine – and it is not until it is too late, that the vaccine gets pulled off the market. It is up to the mass media campaigns to be honest and inform the public about the real issues related to HPV and cervical cancer and the importance of looking at both sides of the issue because to fund a research project against a major pharmaceutical company is next to impossible. The Candian Women’s health network would be an ally in this process however, as they will be sure to publish and stand behind any study or finding that goes against the mass acceptance of Gardasil as a ‘lifesaver’ for women all over the world.
What the public needs to understand is that even if HPV vaccination progs continue to develop and expand, the public needs to know that young women can still develop HPV infection and cervical cancer after being immunized. Harper, the HPV researcher at Dartmouth, tells of a yet unpublished study that shows that if females aged 12-26 who are vaccinated don’t go get pap tests after the vaccine, the rate of cervical cancer will go up compared to pre immunization rates.. "So there is significant danger in people feeling this vaccine offers them a force field protection," says Harper, "and that could actually rebound back to us because there are other HPV types out there and they're not going to stop causing cancer just because we've given a vaccine."
Research studies such as the one aforementioned will eventually come to light in the years to come. It is up to the government of Canada to conduct studies in order to determine if the vaccine that they are purchasing is safe in the long term for females across the country. Whether or not this will happen is probably going to be determined by how many adverse reactions are reported in the future. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies have the money and the power to lobby for the implementation of their vaccine – and it is not until it is too late, that the vaccine gets pulled off the market. It is up to the mass media campaigns to be honest and inform the public about the real issues related to HPV and cervical cancer and the importance of looking at both sides of the issue because to fund a research project against a major pharmaceutical company is next to impossible. The Candian Women’s health network would be an ally in this process however, as they will be sure to publish and stand behind any study or finding that goes against the mass acceptance of Gardasil as a ‘lifesaver’ for women all over the world.
Policy: Media
Merck Frosst obviously has the financial power to buy airtime on most Canadian television channels, as we see the commercial for Gardasil at all moments possible . There needs to be information campaigns, sponsored by the government (whether it be federal or provindical) that provide information about sexual health for both males and females. Media campaigns have experimented with key strategies to overcome the obstacles to providing reproducgtive health ervicse to targeted populations, and especially to reach youth. Motivational media campaigns must use clear, simple messages; multiple media channels; and positive images can increase awareness about the risks of being sexually active. They also must teach people, and youth in particular how to take preventive measures. Those who need ot be involved are members of the target audience as educators, coordinators, and program developers.
Sexual health campaigns will be most effective when working with and complemented by when by other activities at the individual, community, and policy levels. Additionally, the campaign needs to be sustained over the long term. The messages also need to have links to health services, hotline numbers, in order to be successful.
What needs to be done to create effective informative sexual health campaigns? Research to define campaign goals, selection of target audience, identify media channels and refine campaign strategy. Messages need to be tailored to speak to the audience member’s ‘world view’ and use credible sources and appropriate and understandable language. Exposure can be ensured by working with media gatekeepers and using cost effective approaches (radio, billboards, transit cards) as well as entertainment and news. The issues need to be framed in terms important to policy makers, therefore taking advantage of the agenda setting function of mass media. Furthermore, media and community strategies need to be combined to leverage program activity in the community. Behaviour change models can be applied by increasing awareness and increasing knowledge, teaching new skills and sustaining behavior change.
Keller, S.N. & Brown, J.D. (2002). Media interventions to promote responsible sexual behavior. Journal of Sex Research.
Sexual health campaigns will be most effective when working with and complemented by when by other activities at the individual, community, and policy levels. Additionally, the campaign needs to be sustained over the long term. The messages also need to have links to health services, hotline numbers, in order to be successful.
What needs to be done to create effective informative sexual health campaigns? Research to define campaign goals, selection of target audience, identify media channels and refine campaign strategy. Messages need to be tailored to speak to the audience member’s ‘world view’ and use credible sources and appropriate and understandable language. Exposure can be ensured by working with media gatekeepers and using cost effective approaches (radio, billboards, transit cards) as well as entertainment and news. The issues need to be framed in terms important to policy makers, therefore taking advantage of the agenda setting function of mass media. Furthermore, media and community strategies need to be combined to leverage program activity in the community. Behaviour change models can be applied by increasing awareness and increasing knowledge, teaching new skills and sustaining behavior change.
Keller, S.N. & Brown, J.D. (2002). Media interventions to promote responsible sexual behavior. Journal of Sex Research.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Goals and Recommendations: Education An Enriched Sex Education Program
It is vital that young women understand what and why they are injecting Gardasil into their bodies. As mentioned previously, young women are being taught what they are injecting into their bodies (vaccine preventing HPV), but are not given a full understanding as to why (Why are they preventing HPV? What exactly is HPV?) Our goal is to inform sex educators the importance of teaching the facts of HPV towards young men and women. It is vital that an enriched sex education program exist in order to focus not only on HPV, but on ALL sexually transmitted infections. There is a high incidence rate of STI contraction during adolescence, and sex educators need to inform both male and female students about their consequences. HPV is not the most lethal STI, and other diseases such as HIV need to be emphasized immensely. Moreover, similar to family doctors, we recommend that sex educators stress the importance of yearly pap tests and its connection to HPV and other STIs. It is common among adolescent girls to switch to a female doctor in order to increase their comfort levels during this time period. Sex educators should provide information as to where to receive a pap test and provide several contacts (including female family doctors), if they have trouble searching for a family doctor.
Presently, our society is more open-minded towards sexual practices compared to several decades ago. We cannot ignore the fact that young adolescents engage in pre-marital sex. We want sex educators to refrain from abstinence education, and enforce the use of condoms for practicing safer sex. Condoms should be available at all times within the school. Finally, we want sex educators to be honest with adolescents. We do not want sex educators to say, “sex is bad, because you can contract and transmit STI’s and/or get pregnant.” Sex educators should address why the media portrays sex as positive, and admit the pleasures associated to sex. An enriched sex education program such as this, will give adolescents the true facts regarding safe sex, benefits of sex, consequences of sex (HPV, other STI’s) and finally methods of prevention, and pap tests. Finally and most importantly, it will give parents and young women the proper education to make an informed decision towards Gardasil.
Presently, our society is more open-minded towards sexual practices compared to several decades ago. We cannot ignore the fact that young adolescents engage in pre-marital sex. We want sex educators to refrain from abstinence education, and enforce the use of condoms for practicing safer sex. Condoms should be available at all times within the school. Finally, we want sex educators to be honest with adolescents. We do not want sex educators to say, “sex is bad, because you can contract and transmit STI’s and/or get pregnant.” Sex educators should address why the media portrays sex as positive, and admit the pleasures associated to sex. An enriched sex education program such as this, will give adolescents the true facts regarding safe sex, benefits of sex, consequences of sex (HPV, other STI’s) and finally methods of prevention, and pap tests. Finally and most importantly, it will give parents and young women the proper education to make an informed decision towards Gardasil.
Goals and Recommendations: Education --> Who Will be Targeted?
A major argument reiterated throughout this blog stresses the lack of education pertaining to HPV as a sexually transmitted infection. We argued that parents and young women are not properly educated about HPV, making it unfair and unjust to implement its vaccine. Decisions concerning Gardasil have been made strictly surrounding the prevention of cervical cancer. Nonetheless, HPV vaccination programs have been designed to educate parents, but not in a proper manner. For example, in Toronto, grade 8 females are given an information package to take home to parents. This “educational package” includes the following:
- A letter outlining the HPV program
- Fact sheet on HPV vaccine
- Consent form
- Pamphlet (translated into 12 languages)
The information package outlined above provides information concerning the vaccine only. But, what if someone has never heard of HPV? The pamphlet may provide important facts; however, it does not guarantee that parents and children will actually read it. Our goal is to further educate parents, young women, and sex educators about all the facts concerning HPV as a disease, in order to guarantee an informed decision.
We want to begin by targeting parents who feel uncomfortable towards Gardasil due to their misconception of HPV. For example, many parents part of the Catholic School Board believe that the implementation of Gardasil will lead to an increase in young women’s promiscuity. Our goal is to eradicate this myth, and provide proper education and facts regarding HPV, because in reality one can still contract the disease even if he or she is not sexually active. Next, we want to target all parents and young women concerning what is HPV, and inform them about alternative approaches to cervical cancer prevention (pap tests). Finally, we want to ensure that family doctors stress to their female patients the importance of yearly pap check ups. We want to educate family doctors and gynaecologists the importance of maintaining prompt contact with their patients regarding pap test results.
- A letter outlining the HPV program
- Fact sheet on HPV vaccine
- Consent form
- Pamphlet (translated into 12 languages)
The information package outlined above provides information concerning the vaccine only. But, what if someone has never heard of HPV? The pamphlet may provide important facts; however, it does not guarantee that parents and children will actually read it. Our goal is to further educate parents, young women, and sex educators about all the facts concerning HPV as a disease, in order to guarantee an informed decision.
We want to begin by targeting parents who feel uncomfortable towards Gardasil due to their misconception of HPV. For example, many parents part of the Catholic School Board believe that the implementation of Gardasil will lead to an increase in young women’s promiscuity. Our goal is to eradicate this myth, and provide proper education and facts regarding HPV, because in reality one can still contract the disease even if he or she is not sexually active. Next, we want to target all parents and young women concerning what is HPV, and inform them about alternative approaches to cervical cancer prevention (pap tests). Finally, we want to ensure that family doctors stress to their female patients the importance of yearly pap check ups. We want to educate family doctors and gynaecologists the importance of maintaining prompt contact with their patients regarding pap test results.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Goal: Pap Tests for all!
Another goal we have for our policy on HPV is that there be free Pap tests available for all women. So many women fail to get tested each year for a number of different reasons. Some do not have a family doctor, some do not have access to a clinic or hospital as they live in rural areas or are marginalized in the community (this may be due to poverty, being an immigrant or refugee, being Aboriginal, etc.). Also, many women simply are not educated on the importance of getting a pap test, or what a pap test actually does.
We will touch upon the educational component in a different blog, but we would like to stress the importance that women need to know what a pap test is, why they should get one, and where and how they can get one. We propose that all women should have the right to getting tested, and they should be able to do so once a year, for free. Women should be able to go to clinics or hospitals, and those who are marginalized or live in isolated areas should have access to testing sights. This may mean once a year running a clinic on native reserves, or in rural areas. Also, women should have the right to getting the results from their tests in a simple and timely manner. We understand that testing does take time, and their is a waiting period for results, we just want to make sure that abnormal pap tests are always reported.
Ensuring that all women receive pap tests would be extremely beneficial in reducing the spread of HPV, as well as cervical cancer. If a woman does test positive for HPV, she can be made aware of the infection, prevent infecting anyone else, and receive treatment. We believe that freedom and power is in knowledge.
We will touch upon the educational component in a different blog, but we would like to stress the importance that women need to know what a pap test is, why they should get one, and where and how they can get one. We propose that all women should have the right to getting tested, and they should be able to do so once a year, for free. Women should be able to go to clinics or hospitals, and those who are marginalized or live in isolated areas should have access to testing sights. This may mean once a year running a clinic on native reserves, or in rural areas. Also, women should have the right to getting the results from their tests in a simple and timely manner. We understand that testing does take time, and their is a waiting period for results, we just want to make sure that abnormal pap tests are always reported.
Ensuring that all women receive pap tests would be extremely beneficial in reducing the spread of HPV, as well as cervical cancer. If a woman does test positive for HPV, she can be made aware of the infection, prevent infecting anyone else, and receive treatment. We believe that freedom and power is in knowledge.
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