332575
Sex of sexual partners and human papillomavirus vaccination among adolescent and young adult women in the United States
Madina Agénor, ScD, MPH,
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
S. Bryn Austin, ScD,
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Introduction: Women and girls with only female and no sexual partners are at risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer from sexual behaviors throughout the life course. However, no study has assessed how sex of sexual partners may relate to HPV vaccine uptake among women and girls. We examined the association between sex of sexual partners and HPV vaccination among adolescent and young adult women in the United States. Methods: Using data from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, a national probability sample, we relied on logistic regression to estimate the relationship between sex of lifetime and past-year sexual partners and HPV vaccine awareness and initiation among U.S. women aged 15-25 years (n = 3,253), adjusting for covariates. Results: Among U.S. women aged 15-25 years, the prevalence of HPV vaccine awareness and HPV vaccine initiation was 84.4% and 28.5%, respectively. Girls and women with only female past-year sexual partners had significantly lower age-adjusted odds of HPV vaccine initiation relative to those with only male past-year sexual partners (odds ratio [OR] =0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05, 0.59). Adjusting for socio-demographic factors, respondents with no lifetime (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.92) or past-year (OR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.49, 0.94) sexual partners also had significantly lower odds of HPV vaccine initiation compared to their counterparts with only male sexual partners. Conclusions: Medical and public health professionals should ensure that girls and women with only female and no sexual partners are included in HPV vaccine education and promotion efforts.
Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe HPV vaccination disparities between U.S. women and girls with only female sexual partners and those with only male sexual partners.
Describe HPV vaccination disparities between U.S. women and girls with no sexual partners and those with only male sexual partners.
Discuss the role of health insurance status and receiving contraception in shaping HPV vaccination disparities by sex of sexual partners among U.S. women and girls.
Identify how clinicians and public health professionals can include women and girls with only female and no sexual partners in HPV vaccine education and promotion efforts.
Keyword(s): Sexuality, Health Disparities/Inequities
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have received doctoral and postdoctoral research training in social and behavioral sciences, with a focus on the analysis of large national datasets to identify health inequities. I have conducted quantitative and qualitative research on sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and cervical cancer prevention, including cervical cancer screening and human papillomavirus vaccination, among U.S. women and girls.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
