Health beliefs and attitudes of HPV among Hispanic parents as predictors of intention to use the HPV vaccine

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Although HPV prevalence is high in the United States, there are a limited number of research studies that focus on Hispanics, who have higher incidence rates of cervical cancer than their non-Hispanic counterparts. The HPV vaccine introduced in 2006 may offer a feasible solution to the issues surrounding high prevalence of HPV. Due to the high prevalence of HPV infection among adolescents and young adults it has been suggested that HPV vaccination begin prior to onset sexual activity and focus on non-sexually active adolescents and pre-adolescents. Consequently, it has become increasingly important to assess knowledge and awareness of HPV in order to develop effective intervention strategies. This pilot study evaluated the knowledge and health beliefs of Hispanic parents regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine using a newly developed questionnaire based on the constructs of the Health Belief Model. The sample was recruited from an ob-gyn office in El Paso, Texas. Descriptive data show that the majority of the sample was female (94.1%), Hispanic (76.5%), Catholic (64.7%), and had at least a high school education (55.9%). Chi-square analysis revealed that the following variables differed amongst parents who intended to vaccinate their child against HPV and those who did not: religion (p=0.038), perceived severity item \u22HPV infections are easily treated\u22 (p=0.052), perceived benefits item \u22It is better to vaccinate a child against an STI before they become sexually active\u22 (p=0.014) and perceived barriers item \u22The HPV vaccine may have serious side effects that could harm my child\u22 (p=0.004). Univariate logistic regression indicated that religion (OR = 4.8, CI: 1.04, 21.8) and \u22The HPV vaccine may have serious side effects that could harm my child\u22 (OR = 15.9, CI: 1.73, 145.8) were significant predictors of parental intention to vaccinate. Multivariate logistic regression, using backwards elimination, indicated that religion (OR = 7.7, CI: 1.25, 47.8) and \u22The HPV vaccine may have serious side effects that may harm my child\u22 (OR = 7.6, CI: 1.15, 50.2) were the best predictive variables for parental intention to vaccinate.