Potential Factors Affecting the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination: Health Disparities Perspective Analysis

Date

2019-03-05

Authors

Nair, Dr. Maya
Lamar, Ashley
Vishwanatha, Jamboor
Basha, Riyaz

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Potential Factors Affecting the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination: Health Disparities Perspective Analysis Ashley Lamar, Maya Nair, Jamboor K Vishwanatha and Riyaz Basha Background Annually, 14 million people of all ages are infected with the Human Papillomavirus. Around 17,500 women and 9,300 men are affected by cancers related to HPV each year. Vaccinations are recommended for females aged 26 and under and for males under the age of 21. For both males and females, it is recommended that vaccination begins at aged 11 or 12. There are several factors that contribute to parent or guardian’s unwillingness to vaccinate their children. Our interest was to understand the association of HPV vaccination rates with race, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, environment, or social factors. The other objective was to study characteristics specific to Texas that affect vaccination rates. Methods Information was gathered through review of literature and accessing the databases such as Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Immunization Surveys (NIS Teen data). The collected information/data were analyzed focusing on HPV knowledge, attitudes and cultural beliefs. Results Across the data sources investigated, women are shown to have higher vaccination rates than males. Non-Hispanic black males were found to be more likely to get vaccinated compared to their female counterparts. Groups of individuals with higher than a high school level education were shown to have lower HPV vaccination rates. The perception of the threat of HPV affected vaccination rates as well. Hispanic women were more likely to associate HPV with cancer, while their male counterparts associated HPV with infidelity. African Americans were seen to believe they had less of a chance of getting cervical cancer in comparison to White Americans. Socioeconomic status was shown to negatively affect HPV vaccination coverage, with adolescents below the poverty line having higher vaccination rates. Conclusion Overall, significant disparities exist in relation to HPV vaccination rates. The disparities experienced depend primarily on the maternal figure and are affected by age, race, sex, income, and education. Assessment of data specific to Texas area and comparing with the national trends is underway. There is significant room for improvement with HPV vaccination rates that need to be addressed in the community as well as the health care setting. Acknowledgement: This project is partially supported by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (#: R25HL125447) awarded to JKV.

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