Abstract A51: Racial and gender disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV and HPV vaccine in a national sample of U.S. adults
Authors: Boakye Eric Adjei , Tobo Betelihem B. , Osazuwa-Peters Nosayaba 
Published: May 2016

Background: Nearly 80 million people in the U.S. are currently infected with at least one of two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), which is associated with 70% of cervical, and more than 90% of oropharyngeal, cancers. Racial/ethnic disparities in cervical cancer are pervasive, with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women experiencing disproportionately higher incidence and mortality rates than other racial or ethnic groups. Further, although it has been almost 10 years since the approval of the first of three HPV vaccines for boys and girls, disparities in knowledge and awareness about HPV and the HPV vaccine persist, and vaccination rates are suboptimal. The goal of this study was to assess racial/ethnic and gender disparities in the knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine among US adults.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from the Health Information National Trends Survey Cycles 3 and 4 (HINTS; N=6,862). Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess racial/ethnic and gender disparities in HPV knowledge and HPV vaccination awareness.

Results: Sixty-six percent of Americans had heard of HPV and the HPV vaccine; and seventy percent knew that HPV causes cervical cancer. However, we found racial/ethnic and gender disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine. In multivariate analyses, females were 3.28 times (95% CI: 2.62 – 4.09) more likely to have heard of HPV, and 3.86 times (95% CI: 3.11 – 4.79) more likely to have heard of the HPV vaccine compared to males. Non-Hispanic Blacks were 33% (95% CI: 0.47 – 0.96) and 44% (95% CI: 0.39 – 0.81) less likely than non -Hispanic Whites to have heard of HPV and the HPV vaccine, respectively. There was no significant difference between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites regarding HPV knowledge; however, Hispanics were 53% (95% CI: 0.34 – 0.64) less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to have heard of the HPV vaccine. Females were more likely than males to know that HPV causes cervical cancer (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.13 – 1.96). Non-Hispanic Blacks were 48% (95% CI: 0.35 – 0.76) less likely to know that HPV causes cervical cancer compared to non-Hispanic Whites. However, there was no statistically significant difference between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites regarding awareness that HPV causes cervical cancer. Forty-six percent of Americans were aware that HPV often clears on its own without treatment.

Conclusions: Non-Hispanic Blacks and males suffer the greatest disparities associated with knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine. Increasing awareness about the HPV vaccine may help improve vaccination uptake, especially among males and minority populations. Thus, future interventions targeting males and minority populations, for whom knowledge gaps currently exist, are needed. There is also a need to improve physician-patient communications to maximize physician discussion of the HPV vaccine with patients and parents of children eligible for the HPV vaccine.

Citation Format: Eric Adjei Boakye, Betelihem B. Tobo, Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters. Racial and gender disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV and HPV vaccine in a national sample of U.S. adults. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A51.