Gender and Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Timing of Initiating the HPV Vaccine Series

Kim-Phuong Truong-Vu , University of Colorado Boulder

The HPV vaccine is highly effective in providing protection against the human papillomavirus (HPV). Targeting young adolescents to initiate on-time vaccinations is crucial in curtailing HPV and HPV-related morbidity and mortality. To date, no study has examined the timing of initiating the HPV vaccine—never or late, relative to on-time vaccinations—or how differences in timing among populations may be due to gender and race/ethnicity intersecting to affect uptake. To address this gap, this study used data from the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine how gender, race/ethnicity, and their intersections predict age-specific probabilities of initiating HPV vaccinations. Multinomial logistic regression—with on-time vaccination as the base outcome—was used to examine the timing of initiating HPV vaccinations. Results show that gender and the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity were significant predictors of the timing of initiating the HPV vaccine, especially for Asian Americans males.

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 Presented in Session 10. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior & Reproductive Health 2