Introduction: Racial/ethnic (R/E) minorities have been shown to have lower knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and the HPV vaccine when compared to R/E majorities. They are also less likely to have a regular healthcare provider (HCP). Given that having a regular HCP is associated with higher knowledge of HPV, the HPV vaccine, and higher vaccine completion rates, we sought to evaluate whether R/E disparities in HPV knowledge are attenuated among individuals with a regular HCP. Methods: Weighted data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5 cycle 1 and 2 (2017-2018) were analyzed using SAS Version 9.4. Self-reported race/ethnicity was used to categorize participants as R/E minority (Black/African American, Hispanic, and Other) or majority (White). Wald chi-square tests were performed to assess the association between R/E minority status and knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess these associations after controlling for pertinent sociodemographic factors (gender, age, education, income, health insurance, geographic area, census region, ever having cancer, and use of the internet). The same associations were assessed in stratified analyses comparing those with and without a regular HCP. Results: Overall, knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine was significantly lower among minorities than among majorities (57.62% and 52.51% vs 65.39% and 66.38%). A lower percentage of minorities reported having a regular HCP (52.20%) when compared to majorities (72.71%). While knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine was generally higher among individuals with a regular HCP (62.94% compared to 57.84% among those without a regular HCP), differences by R/E status persisted. Specifically, a lower proportion of minorities with a regular HCP had ever heard of HPV (61.40%) or the HPV vaccine (55.14%), when compared to majorities (67% and 67.89%, respectively). In multivariate analyses, minorities had a 35% lower odds of having heard of HPV (odds ratio [OR] = 0.65, confidence interval [CI] = 0.50 – 0.84) and a 45% lower odds of having heard of the HPV vaccine (OR = 0.55, CI = 0.42 – 0.73) when compared to majorities after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Furthermore, among individuals with a regular HCP, minorities had a 37% (OR = 0.63, CI = 0.48 – 0.83) lower odds of having heard of HPV and a 49% (OR = 0.51, CI = 0.39 – 0.68) lower odds of having heard of the HPV vaccine when compared to majorities after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Conclusion: These analyses show that R/E minority groups have disparately lower knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine when compared to the R/E majority group. Additionally, minorities who had a regular HCP still reported significantly lower levels of HPV and HPV vaccine knowledge than their majority counterparts. These analyses suggest the need to address disparities in health information and strengthen provider-patient communication regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine.

Citation Format: Jane Montealegre. Racial/ethnic disparities in knowledge of human papilloma virus (HPV) and the HPV vaccine among individuals with a regular healthcare provider: Results from the Health Information National Trends Survey, United States, 2017-2018 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D009.

©2020 American Association for Cancer Research.
2020
American Association for Cancer Research.