Racial Disparities in HPV-related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Among African American and White Women in the USA

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the differences in HPV-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs among African American and non-Hispanic white women and to determine their communication preferences for cancer-related information. Data was obtained from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) 2014 Health Interview National Trends Survey (HINTS), a cross-sectional survey of US adults 18 years of age or older. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify differences in awareness and knowledge. Data was collected in 2014 and analyzed in 2016. HPV awareness (71 vs. 77%) and knowledge that HPV causes cervical cancer (64 vs. 81%) were significantly lower among blacks. Additionally, there were significant disparities in awareness of the HPV vaccine (66 vs. 79%), with only 25% of Black women indicating that they or a family member was recommended the HPV vaccine by a health care professional. There were also differences in cancer communication preferences. Blacks were more likely than Whites to trust cancer information from family (OR 2.7, confidence interval [CI] 0.725-10.048), television (OR 3.0, 95% [CI] 0.733-12.296), government health agencies (OR 5.8, [CI] 0.639-52.818), and religious organizations (OR 6.4, 95% [CI] 1.718-23.932). Study results indicate that racial/ethnic differences exist in HPV knowledge/awareness and cancer communication preferences. These results highlight the need to increase HPV prevention and education efforts using methods that are tailored to Black women. To address HPV/cervical cancer disparities, future interventions should utilize preferred communication outlets to effectively increase HPV knowledge and vaccine awareness.

Keywords: Cervical cancer prevention; HPV; Health disparities; Health education; Human papillomavirus.

Figure 1. Trusted Sources of Cancer Information

*p<0.001, †p<0.005