Community college women do not obtain the HPV vaccine at the same rate as university women. The aim of this study was to discover the perceptions of community college women in relation to the human papillomavirus (HPV) and associated cancers, the perceived barriers and benefits of obtaining the HPV vaccination, and how health behavior decisions…

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Annually, in the U.S., there are over 27,000 individuals diagnosed with cancers that are caused by the human papillomavirus. The total health care cost related to cervical cancer alone in the U.S. is $3.7 billion (Thomas, 2016). The HPV…

Health information is increasingly being shared online not just by credentialed sources such as physicians or health organizations, but also by patients with personal experience with a health concern. This dissertation proposes a new measure of vigilance-avoidance, or tendency to approach or avoid threatening stimuli, in order to understand how…

Hispanics have a disproportionate burden of poorer cancer outcomes. "Promotores" (community health workers) have been shown to be effective in delivering interventions to this population. However, little is known about what aspects of the "promotores" influence the delivery of a cancer education intervention as well what…

This dissertation evaluates the effectiveness of a customized educational health intervention on sexual health and female cancer prevention among young women in Pakistan and evaluates the applicability of the integrated model of behavior prevention (IM) when predicting three health behaviors among this population. The study used randomized…

Cancer can be one of the most serious diseases that can result in a costly reduction in the quality of life. Among a number of cancer risk factors, tobacco use has been identified as the leading preventable cause of deaths. Prior research has suggested that cancer information seeking may be a pre-step to adopt health protective behaviors that can…

Cancer is now the second leading cause of death for Americans, behind heart disease. By current estimates, up to two thirds of cancer diagnoses could be avoided or prevented with behavior changes such as the adoption of healthier lifestyles. One way that individuals learn about cancer is through the news media. Of all of the sources of health…