Awareness of HPV Vaccinations and Barriers to Vaccination Administration Among Underserved Women

Human Papillomavirus Awareness, Vaccine Status, and Risk Factors in Female Emergency Patients

Introduction

A vaccine targeting high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) strains can effectively prevent HPV-associated cervical cancer risk. However, many girls and women do not receive the vaccine, more often those impacted by health disparities associated with race and/or socioeconomic status. This same disparate population has also been shown to be at higher risk for cervical cancer. Many of these women also rely on the emergency department (ED) as a safety net for their healthcare. This study sought to gather information pertaining to HPV and cervical cancer risk factors, awareness of HPV and the vaccine, as well as HPV vaccine uptake in female patients presenting to an ED.

Methods

We obtained 81 surveys completed by female ED patients. Demographics included age, race, income, insurance status, primary care provider status, and known cervical-cancer risk factors. Subsequent survey questions explored respondents’ knowledge, familiarity, and attitudes regarding HPV, cervical cancer, and the HPV vaccine, including vaccination uptake rates. We analyzed data using descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact test.

Results

Approximately one in seven respondents (14.8%) had never previously heard of HPV and 32.1% were unaware of the existence of a HPV vaccine. Minority patients, including those who were Black and Hispanic patients, low income patients, and uninsured and publicly insured patients were less likely to be aware of HPV and the vaccine and likewise were less likely to be offered and receive the vaccine. More than 60% of all respondents (61.3%) had never previously been offered the vaccine, and only 24.7% of all respondents had completed the vaccine series.

Conclusion

Female ED patients may represent an at-risk cohort with relatively low HPV awareness and low HPV vaccine uptake. The ED could represent a novel opportunity to access and engage high-risk HPV populations.

Cervical Human Papillomavirus Testing With Two Home Self-Collection Methods Compared With a Standard Clinically Collected Sampling Method

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of 2 self-collection methods to detect cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA with outcomes from a standard clinical method. The standard method samples were collected by a clinician at a routine pelvic examination. Self-samples were taken at home and mailed to the clinical laboratory.

METHODS

The 2 self-collection methods were a tampon-based method and a swab-based method using a commercial device, an Eve Medical HerSwab. All HPV samples were processed by a clinical laboratory using the Food and Drugs Administration approved Roche Cobase HPV method, which specifically identifies HPV 16, HPV 18, and a set of 12 other high-risk subtypes. Patients were recruited from 2 cancer screening clinics 2015 to 2017. All patients signed an informed consent. Screening outcomes, such as prevalence, percent agreement with standard, sensitivity, and specificity, were calculated for each self-collection method. Measures of similarity between self and standard collection outcomes, Cohen's κ, percent concordance, McNemar equivalence, and others were tested statistically.

RESULTS

One hundred seventy-four patients were randomized. The prevalence of 1 or more positive HPV high-risk subtypes from the standard clinical specimens was 13.5%. All clinical specimens were sufficient for valid HPV detection. For the tampon method, 15 (27%) of the specimens were insufficient quality. Only 1 (2%) swab specimen was insufficient. Only the swab self-collection method was found to be statistically noninferior to the clinical method. The tampon method had an unacceptably high rate of insufficient quality specimens and also failed the equivalency tests.

CONCLUSIONS

The swab home collection samples were equivalent to the clinical samples, but the tampon method had an unacceptably high rate of specimens insufficient for HPV detection.