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Understanding HPV Vaccine Uptake Among Cambodian American Girls

Journal of Community Health volume 39, pages 857–862 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Cervical cancer incidence rates vary substantially among racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US) with women of Southeast Asian descent having the highest rates. Up to 70 % of cervical cancers could be prevented by widespread use of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. However, there is a lack of information about HPV vaccine uptake among Southeast Asian girls in the US. We conducted a telephone survey of Cambodian women with daughters who were age-eligible for HPV vaccination. Survey items addressed HPV vaccination barriers, facilitators and uptake. Our study group included 86 Cambodian mothers who lived in the Seattle metropolitan area. The proportions of survey participants who reported their daughter had initiated and completed the HPV vaccine series were only 29 and 14 %, respectively. Higher levels of vaccine uptake were significantly associated with mothers having heard about the HPV vaccine from a health professional and having received a recent Pap test. Commonly cited barriers to HPV vaccination included lack of knowledge about the HPV vaccine, not having received a physician recommendation for HPV vaccination and thinking the HPV vaccine is unnecessary in the absence of health problems. Linguistically and culturally appropriate HPV educational programs should be developed and implemented in Cambodian American communities. These programs should aim to enhance understanding of disease prevention measures, increase knowledge about the HPV vaccine and empower women to ask their daughter’s doctors for HPV vaccination.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grant CA159908 from the National Cancer Institute. We thank the Cambodian community leaders who participate in our advisory group for their assistance and advice, as well as the survey interviewers for their outstanding work.

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Affiliations

  1. Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, (M3 – B232), Seattle, WA, 98109, USA

    Victoria M. Taylor, Linda K. Ko, Channdara Sos, H. Hoai Do & Jocelyn Talbot

  2. Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Nancy J. Burke

  3. School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Qi Liu & Yutaka Yasui

  4. Department of Health Policy and Management, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Roshan Bastani

Authors
  1. Victoria M. Taylor
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  2. Nancy J. Burke
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  3. Linda K. Ko
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  4. Channdara Sos
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  5. Qi Liu
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  6. H. Hoai Do
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  7. Jocelyn Talbot
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  8. Yutaka Yasui
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  9. Roshan Bastani
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Correspondence to Victoria M. Taylor.

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Taylor, V.M., Burke, N.J., Ko, L.K. et al. Understanding HPV Vaccine Uptake Among Cambodian American Girls. J Community Health 39, 857–862 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9844-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9844-8

Keywords

  • Cambodian American
  • HPV
  • Vaccination