Approaching a decade since HPV vaccine licensure: Racial and gender disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV and HPV vaccine.

UNLABELLED

Purpose: Gaps remain in the public's knowledge of the human papillomavirus (HPV). We assessed racial/ethnic and gender disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine among US adults.

METHODS

Data from the Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycle 3 (September - December 2013) and Cycle 4 (August - November 2014) were analyzed for 6,862 respondents aged 18 years and older. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate racial/ethnic and gender disparities in HPV knowledge and HPV vaccination awareness.

RESULTS

Sixty-six percent of respondents had heard of HPV and the HPV vaccine (57% of men vs. 75% of women). In multivariable analyses, compared with men, women were 225% (95% CI: 2.60 - 4.07) more likely to have heard of HPV, and 281% (95% CI: 3.06 - 4.74) more likely to have heard of the HPV vaccine. 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. Hispanics were 27% (95% CI: 0.52 - 1.02) and 53% (95% CI: 0.34 - 0.64) less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to have heard of HPV and the HPV vaccine, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

There was evidence of disparities in HPV and HPV vaccine awareness among men compared with women and non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic Whites. To foster improvements in HPV vaccine uptake and reduce disparities in HPV associated cancers, future interventions must target men and minority populations, for whom knowledge gaps exist.