Differences in HPV knowledge and vaccination status among U.S. college minority women

Introduction: Cervical cancer disproportionately affects minority women. Although 2 FDA-approved vaccines are available to prevent HPV, the virus responsible for cervical cancer, little is known about the relationship between minority women's HPV knowledge and vaccination behaviors.

Purpose: To examine levels of HPV knowledge among women 1) who were unvaccinated, 2) who initiated but did not complete the vaccine series, and 3) who completed the 3-dose series.

Methods: Minority women (46% Hispanic; 27% Black; 12% Asian; 15% White/Other) attending a large public university in southeast US completed a 20-minute web-based survey.

Results: Significant differences in HPV knowledge (p<0.05) were found among unvaccinated (n=443), initiators (n=79) and completers (n=189). Generally, those who completed, followed by those who initiated the vaccine had significantly higher knowledge on the following items: there are many types of HPV (p<0.01); you can always tell when someone else has HPV (p<0.01); you can have HPV without knowing it (<0.01); some types of HPV can cause cervical cancer (<0.01); only people who have sex with lots of other people get HPV (<0.01); you can get/transmit HPV through sexual contact with another person (p=0.01); using a condom will decrease the chance of transmitting HPV (p=0.01); and you can get HPV from vaginal sex (p=0.03).

Conclusion: Women who completed the vaccine series had higher knowledge on items related to the sexual transmission and acquisition of HPV. Future interventions could address the low knowledge among unvaccinated minority women to decrease vaccine disparities and the subsequent cancer rates that develop across the lifespan.