Knowledge of HPV Among United States Hispanic Women: Opportunities and Challenges for Cancer Prevention

Abstract

In the United States, Hispanic women contribute disproportionately to cervical cancer incidence and mortality. This disparity, which primarily reflects lack of access to, and underutilization of, routine Pap smear screening may improve with increased availability of vaccines to prevent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection, the principal cause of cervical cancer. However, limited research has explored known determinants of HPV vaccine acceptability among Hispanic women. The current study examines two such determinants, HPV awareness and knowledge, using data from the 2007 Health Interview National Trends Survey (HINTS) and a cross-section of callers to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Cancer Information Service (CIS). Study data indicate that HPV awareness was high in both samples (69.5% and 63.8% had heard of the virus) but that knowledge of the virus and its association with cervical cancer varied between the two groups of women. The CIS sample, which was more impoverished and less acculturated than their HINTS counterparts, were less able to correctly identify that HPV causes cervical cancer (67.1% vs. 78.7%) and that it is a prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI; 66.8% vs. 70.4%). Such findings imply that future research may benefit from disaggregating data collected with Hispanics to reflect important heterogeneity in this population subgroup’s ancestries, levels of income, educational attainment, and acculturation. Failing to do so may preclude opportunity to understand, as well as to attenuate, cancer disparity.

Correlates of HPV Knowledge among Low-income Minority Mothers with a Child 9-17 Years of Age

“…For example, Wu et al found that 71% of young Latina women in New Jersey had heard of HPV, 21 while Kobetz et al found that approximately 70% of Hispanic women interviewed in 2007 were aware of HPV. 22 Only 63% of rural Hispanic mothers in Lower Yakima Valley, Washington had heard of HPV. 12 Together, these studies suggest that awareness of HPV is lower among Hispanics residing in the U.S. than other ethnicities.…”

Telling Stories, Saving Lives: Creating Narrative Health Messages

“…Potentially contributing to these elevated rates are large health communication gaps. Less than 70% of Latina women in recent national surveys were aware of HPV, and of those who were aware of HPV, only 70% were aware of the availability of a vaccine (Kobetz et al, 2010). Moreover, a recent survey revealed that 36% of Latina immigrants felt they were not at risk for cervical cancer, a belief associated with a lack of knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors (Garces-Palacio & Scarinci, 2012).…”

Picking Up the Pace: Changes in Method and Frame for the Health Information National Trends Survey (2011–2014)

“…Throughout the past decade, the Journal of Health Communication has been a committed partner in our efforts to disseminate research based on HINTS data. Two special issues of the journal have been dedicated to summarizing key findings derived from HINTS data resources showcasing a breadth of research topics including disparities in health communication (Geiger et al, 2010; Kobetz et al, 2010; Langford, Resnicow, & An, 2010; Nguyen & Bellamy, 2006; Oh et al, 2010; Tortolero-Luna et al, 2010; Vanderpool & Huang, 2010; Viswanath et al, 2006; Zhao, 2010), health communication in health care delivery (Chou, Wang, Finney Rutten, Moser, & Hesse, 2010; Ciampa, Osborn, Peterson, & Rothman, 2010; Hou & Shim, 2010; Ling, Klein, & Dang, 2006; Marks, Ok, Joung, & Allegrante, 2010; Rutten, Augustson, & Wanke, 2006; Shim, Kelly, & Hornik, 2006; Smith, Wolf, & von Wagner, 2010), health information seeking (Hesse et al, 2006; Rutten, Squiers, & Hesse, 2006; Squiers et al, 2006), cancer prevention behavior and health communication (Ford, Coups, & Hay, 2006; Ling et al, 2006; Shim et al, 2006), perceptions of cancer risk (Ford et al, 2006; Han, Moser, & Klein, 2006; Zajac, Klein, & McCaul, 2006), mediated health communication (Clayman, Manganello, Viswanath, Hesse, & Arora, 2010; Kaufman, Augustson, Davis, & Finney Rutten, 2010; Kealey & Berkman, 2010; Koch-Weser, Bradshaw, Gualtieri, & Gallagher, 2010; Kontos, Emmons, Puleo, & Viswanath, 2010) and health survey methodology (McBride & Cantor, 2010; Peytchev, Ridenhour, & Krotki, 2010). In addition to the special issues, the journal has published several other peer-reviewed articles focused on HINTS analyses further demonstrating their commitment to this important program of research (Cheong, Feeley, & Servoss, 2007; Hesse et al, 2011; Koshiol, Rutten, Moser, & Hesse, 2009; Manganello & Clayman, 2011; McQueen, Vernon, Meissner, & Rakowski, 2008; Niederdeppe, Frosch, & Hornik, 2008; Ok, Marks, & Allegrante, 2008; Rains, 2007; Thompson et al, 2011; Ye, 2011).…”