Not just a woman's business! Understanding men and women's knowledge of HPV, the HPV vaccine, and HPV-associated cancers.
Few studies have included men when assessing differences in knowledge about HPV, and HPV-associated cancers. We examined gender differences in knowledge about HPV, HPV vaccine, and HPV-associated cancers. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyze data of 3,677 survey respondents aged 18 years and older from the 2014 Health Information National Trends Survey. Covariates included age, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, income level, regular provider, general health, internet use, and family structure aged 9 to 27 years. Analyses were conducted in 2015. Sixty-four percent of respondents had heard of HPV and the HPV vaccine. Seventy-eight percent of respondents knew HPV causes cervical cancer, but only 29% knew it causes penile cancer, 26% knew it causes anal cancer, and 30% knew it causes oral cancer. In multivariable analyses, males were less likely to have heard of HPV (aOR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.25-0.45), and less likely to have heard of the HPV vaccine (aOR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.18-0.32) compared to females. No differences existed between males and females regarding knowledge about HPV-associated cancers. In conclusion, knowledge of HPV, the vaccine, and HPV-associated cancers in both males and females in the United States remains very low, especially among men.
Department of Epidemiology, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA; Saint Louis University Cancer Center, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Saint Louis University, School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Nosayaba
N
Osazuwa-Peters
Saint Louis University Center for Outcomes Research (SLUCOR), Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA. Electronic address: adjeiboakyee@slu.edu.
Eric
E
Adjei Boakye
Saint Louis University Center for Outcomes Research (SLUCOR), Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Kahee A
KA
Mohammed
Department of Epidemiology, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Betelihem B
BB
Tobo
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Christian J
CJ
Geneus
Department of Epidemiology, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Mario
M
Schootman
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines
Gender; HPV knowledge; HPV vaccine; HPV-associated cancers