Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Date

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Liberal Studies

Department

Liberal Studies

Committee Chair

Marie van der Merwe

Committee Member

Gary Donhardt

Committee Member

Keisha Brooks-Burnett

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a technology-based educational intervention delivered exclusively through text messaging to increase knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV infection and behavioral intentions to obtain Pap test screening and HPV vaccination. A two-arm randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest structure was administered to 33 enrolled college students ages 18–26 years, with 29 participants completing both assessments and included in the final analysis. Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group, which received a one-week text message-based health intervention, or a control group, which received no intervention. Pretest and posttest surveys evaluated knowledge regarding cervical cancer and HPV infection, as well as behavioral intentions related to Pap testing and HPV vaccination uptake. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA within the General Linear Model (GLM), paired samples t-test, and McNemar’s tests. Repeated-measures ANOVA results indicated no statistically significant differences between groups in posttest knowledge scores (p > 0.05), and no significant time-by-group interaction. Gender demonstrated a statistically significant effect on pretest and posttest knowledge scores, with females demonstrating significantly higher scores than males across both time points (p < 0.001). Paired samples t-tests indicated no significant overall change from pretest to posttest (p > 0.05), although descriptive findings indicated a slight increase in knowledge scores among participants in the treatment group. McNemar’s tests assessing behavioral intentions for Pap testing and HPV vaccination also revealed no statistically significant changes (p > 0.05). However, positive directional trends were observed across several treatment and control subgroups, with some participants shifting from negative to positive behavioral intentions at posttest and no observed shifts in the opposite direction. These findings suggest that a short-term text message-based intervention alone may not be sufficient to produce statistically significant improvements in knowledge or behavioral intentions related to cervical cancer prevention and HPV vaccination. However, the observed positive trends indicate potential benefits with a larger sample size, longer intervention duration, or addition of specific personal and behavioral support strategies. Further research is needed to optimize the effectiveness of text message-based interventions in promoting preventative health behaviors in young adults.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest/Clarivate.

Notes

Open Access

Download

Share

COinS