Awareness and knowledge of Human papillomavirus (HPV) among ethnically diverse women varying in generation status.
Although Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection, there is limited knowledge of HPV with ethnic/racial minorities experiencing the greatest disparities. This cross-sectional study used the most recent available data from the California Health Interview Survey to assess disparities in awareness and knowledge of HPV among ethnically/racially diverse women varying in generation status (N = 19,928). Generation status emerged as a significant predictor of HPV awareness across ethnic/racial groups, with 1st generation Asian-Americans and 1st and 2nd generation Latinas reporting the least awareness when compared to same-generation White counterparts. Also, generation status was a significant predictor of HPV knowledge, but only for Asian-Americans. Regardless of ethnicity/race, 1st generation women reported lowest HPV knowledge when compared to 2nd and 3rd generation women. These findings underscore the importance of looking at differences within and across ethnic/racial groups to identify sub-groups at greatest risk for poor health outcomes. In particular, we found generation status to be an important yet often overlooked factor in the identification of health disparities.
SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, 6363 Alvarado Ct., Suite 103, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA, lgarcini@projects.sdsu.edu.
L M
LM
Garcini
K E
KE
Murray
J L
JL
Barnack-Tavlaris
A Q
AQ
Zhou
V L
VL
Malcarne
E A
EA
Klonoff
D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D012307:Risk Factors