Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Awareness and Knowledge of Human Papilloma Virus and Cervical Cancer in Women with High Pap Uptake

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Community Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This cross-sectional study explored knowledge, awareness, and health practices surrounding cervical cancer prevention and screening. Patients (n = 129) were recruited from three community clinics of underserved populations in Dallas, Texas. Women between ages 18–65 were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge, awareness, and attitudes related to pap tests, human papilloma virus (HPV), HPV vaccines, and cervical cancer. Most women reported having a pap test in the past 3–5 years (86.6%). Over half knew that there was an increased risk of cervical cancer with an HPV infection, abnormal pap test, or both (52%). However, less than half of women knew the purpose of a pap test (40%), the purpose of the HPV vaccine (48%), or the transmission mode of HPV (25%). Over half of participants first heard about a pap test from a doctor (60%), about one quarter from their mother (24%), and less than a quarter from others (16%). More than half of women were aware of HPV (55%), while less than half were aware of the HPV vaccine (48%). Overall, we found that while most women had a high uptake of pap tests, they had low knowledge of the purpose of a pap test, the HPV vaccine, and transmission mode of HPV. They also had low awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine. Given that almost all cases of cervical cancer are due to HPV infection, future studies should aim to further explore the gap between knowledge and awareness of HPV and pap uptake.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. American Cancer Society. (2017). Cancer facts & figs. 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2017/cancer-facts-and-figures-2017.pdf.

  2. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2018). Retrieved September 27, 2018 from Draft recommendation statement, cervical cancer: Screening. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/draft-recommendation-statement/cervical-cancer-screening2.

  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Cervical cancer statistics. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/statistics/index.htm.

  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Pap tests. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/pap-tests.htm.

  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Human papillomavirus (HPV) ACIP vaccine recommendation. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vacc-specific/hpv.html.

  6. Human Papillomavirus Vaccination. (2017). Committee opinion no. 704. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 129, 173–178.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Teen vaccination coverage publications and resources. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/infographics/vacc-coverage.html.

  8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). HPV vaccination coverage data. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/hcp/vacc-coverage.html.

  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). United States Cancer Statistics: Data visualizations. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/statistics/race.htm (CDC 2).

  10. Documet, P., Bear, T. M., Flatt, J. D., Macia, L., Trauth, J., & Ricci, E. M. (2015). The association of social support and education with breast and cervical cancer screening. Health Education & Behavior, 42(1), 55–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Gamarra, C. J., Paz, E. P. A., & Griep, R. H. (2009). Social support and cervical and breast cancer screening in Argentinean women from a rural population. Public Health Nursing, 26(3), 269–276.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Griep, R. H., & Rotenberg, L. (2009). Social support and cervical and breast cancer screening practices among nurses. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 17(4), 514–521.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Asgary, R., Alcabes, A., Feldman, R., Garland, V., Naderi, R., Ogedegbe, G., & Sckell, B. (2016). Cervical cancer screening among homeless women of New York City shelters. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20(6), 1143–1150.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Lechuga, J., Vera-Cala, L., & Martinez-Donate, A. (2016). HPV vaccine awareness, barriers, intentions, and uptake in Latina women. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 18(1), 173–178.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Gross, T. T., Laz, T. H., Rahman, M., & Berenson, A. B. (2015). Association between mother-child sexual communication and HPV vaccine uptake. Preventive Medicine, 74, 63–66.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Monnat, S. M., Rhubart, D. C., & Wallington, S. F. (2016). Differences in human papillomavirus vaccination among adolescent girls in metropolitan versus non-metropolitan areas: considering the moderating roles of maternal socioeconomic status and health care access. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20(2), 315–325.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. STATA: StataCorp. (2015). Stata Statistical Software: Release 14. College Station. TX: StataCorp LP.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Gimpel, N., Pagels, P., & Kindratt, T. (2017). Community action research experience (CARE): Training family physicians in community based participatory research. Education for Primary Care, 28(6), 334–339.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Gimpel, N., Kindratt, T., Dawson, A., & Pagels, P. (2018). Community action research track: Community-based participatory research and service-learning experiences for medical students. Perspectives on Medical Education, 7(2), 139–143.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Nardi, C., Sandhu, P., & Selix, N. (2016). Cervical cancer screening among minorities in the United States. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 12(10), 675–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2018). Healthy people 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2018 from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/cancer/objectives.

  22. Obulaney, P. A., Gilliland, I., & Cassells, H. (2016). Increasing cervical cancer and human papillomavirus prevention knowledge and HPV vaccine uptake through mother/daughter education. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 33(1), 54–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Barnack-Tavlaris, J. L., Garcini, L. M., Macera, C. A., Brodine, S., & Klonoff, E. A. (2016). Human papillomavirus vaccination awareness and acceptability among US-born and US foreign-born women living in California. Health Care for Women International, 37(4), 444–462.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Kim, H. W. (2016). The health beliefs of mothers about preventing cervical cancer and their intention to recommend the Pap test to their daughters: A cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 370.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Kindratt, T. B., & Gonzalez, J. R. (2018). Perceived maternal relationship as a predictor of pap test utilization: Results from the longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, 9(1), 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Chao, C., Slezak, J. M., Coleman, K. J., & Jacobsen, S. J. (2009). Papanicolaou screening behavior in mothers and human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in adolescent girls. American Journal of Public Health, 99(6), 1137–1142.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Spencer, A. M., Brabin, L., Verma, A., & Roberts, S. A. (2013). Mothers’ screening histories influence daughters’ vaccination uptake: an analysis of linked cervical screening and human papillomavirus vaccination records in the North West of England. European Journal of Cancer, 49(6), 1264–1272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Madhivanan, P., Valderrama, D., Krupp, K., & Ibanez, G.. . Culture (2016). Family and cultural influences on cervical cancer screening among immigrant Latinas in Miami-Dade County, USA. Health & Sexuality, 18(6), 710–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Rask, M., Oscarsson, M., Lindell, G., & Swahnberg, K. (2016). Women with abnormal Pap smear result: A qualitative study of Swedish healthcare professionals’ experiences. European Journal of Cancer Care, 25(6), 980–991.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Joseph, N. P., Bernstein, J., Pelton, S., Belizaire, M., Goff, G., Horanieh, N., & Freund, K. M. (2016). Brief client-centered motivational and behavioral intervention to promote HPV vaccination in a hard-to-reach population: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Clinical Pediatrics, 55(9), 851–859.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Christina Avila, MD and Amrutha Pavle, MD for their contributions to the study.

Funding

Funding was obtained from the Texas Academy of Family Physicians Foundation Research Project Grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX, 75390-9165, USA

    Ruba Alafifi

  2. University of Texas Southwestern School of Health Professions, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX, 75390-9090, USA

    Tiffany B. Kindratt

  3. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, 5920 Forest Park Rd Suite 652, Dallas, TX, 75325, USA

    Patti Pagels & Nora E. Gimpel

  4. Mansfield Medical Clinic, 221 Regency Pkwy #125, Mansfield, TX, 76063, USA

    Nadeen Saleh

Authors
  1. Ruba Alafifi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tiffany B. Kindratt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Patti Pagels
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nadeen Saleh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nora E. Gimpel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nora E. Gimpel.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Alafifi, R., Kindratt, T.B., Pagels, P. et al. Awareness and Knowledge of Human Papilloma Virus and Cervical Cancer in Women with High Pap Uptake. J Community Health 44, 332–338 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-0591-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-0591-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation