Purpose: To determine whether Hispanic immigrants from different geographic areas have different levels of knowledge about Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Methods: The National Cancer Institute’s former Cancer Information Service operated a Spanish language call center with trained information specialists. We partnered with CIS to collect HPV knowledge data among Spanish language, Hispanic immigrant callers. Of 2,134 callers who met study eligibility criteria, 49% (n=1045) agreed to participate. Awareness of HPV was asked of 1037 individuals. Ten questions related to HPV knowledge were asked of participants; the number of correct answers for each participant was summed and categorized into Low, Medium, and High knowledge. Demographics, country of origin, and questions on language most commonly spoken were asked.
Results: The average age of participants was 41.4 (SD 11.9) years, and 81.9% were female. The majority, 66.1%, had a high school education or less. Geographic origin was classified as Caribbean (9.3%), Central America (13.3%), Mexico (53.4%), and South America (24.0%). The majority, 56.9%, indicated that they only spoke Spanish. Among participants, 671 (64.7%) said that they had heard of HPV. Only these individuals were asked the 10 knowledge questions. For individual questions assessing HPV knowledge, the % of individuals getting the correct answer ranged from 43.2% (knowing that HPV causes genital warts) to 83.5% (knowing that having many sexual partners increases HPV risk). The average number of correct answers was 6.01 (SD 2.40), with 17.3% of participants being categorized as Low knowledge, 35.4% as Medium, and 47.2% as High. Multinomial logistic regression showed that geographic origin was not associated with knowledge level. Compared to individuals with Low knowledge levels, older individuals were less likely to have a Medium level of knowledge (RRR 0.45 [CI 0.23, 0.90]) and individuals with a college degree or more were significantly more likely to have a High level of knowledge (RRR 3.86 [CI 1.54, 9.69]). Years in the US and language primarily spoken were not associated with knowledge level.
Conclusions: Geographic origin was not associated with knowledge about HPV among Hispanic immigrants. Knowledge was generally low (just over half of questions answered correctly). This lack of knowledge might inhibit optimal and informed decision making about HPV vaccination. Examining prevalent knowledge and attitudes of HPV can lead to more relevant, and thus sustainable, prevention activities.
See more of: The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making