Abstract: Factors Affecting First-Generation Immigrant Parents' Decisions on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Uptake for 11-12-Year-Old Girls (Society for Social Work and Research 24th Annual Conference - Reducing Racial and Economic Inequality)

59P Factors Affecting First-Generation Immigrant Parents' Decisions on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Uptake for 11-12-Year-Old Girls

Schedule:
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Marquis BR Salon 6 (ML 2) (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)
* noted as presenting author
Yuqi Guo, phd, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC
Qingyi Li, M.L., PhD(c), Research Assistant, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
Fan Yang, PhD, Researcher, University of Alabama, UT
Shichong Zhao, Student, sz, Dalian, China
Backgrounds and Purposes: Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer among women worldwide. Cervarix® and Gardasil® are two available HPV vaccines that proved by clinical trials to be safe and nearly 100% efficacious against pre-cancerous lesions in a naïve population. The recommended age by US Centers for Disease Control to uptake HPV immunization for boys and girls is at 11-12. The literature has documented factors impacting the uptake and completion of HPV vaccines series, including having health insurance, more healthcare utilization, positive vaccine attitudes , race, education level of parents, and family income. However, little knowledge is available about the HPV vaccine uptake for the second-generation immigrant children at the recommended age and the decision-making process by their first-generation immigrant parents on this issue. The present study is to analyze factors impacting the first-generation immigrant parents’ decisions on the HPV vaccine uptake for their 11-12-year-old daughters.

Methods: Analysis was conducted on the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), 2008. The sample in this analysis included 784 first-generation immigrant parents who had 11- to 12-year-old girls in the US. Binomial logistic regression was conducted to examine the likelihood of HPV vaccine uptake decisions for 11- to 12-year-old girl among first-generation immigrant parents by demographic characteristics and HPV literacy.

Results: Analysis of the sample showed that approximately 52% of immigrant parents had HPV vaccine for their 11- to 12-year-old daughters, and about 49% of immigrant parents did not have HPV vaccine for their daughter. Immigrant parents who resident longer time in the US (OR=.977, p<.01) showed significant lower likelihood to have HPV vaccine for their daughter. Participants who were married or partnered (OR=1.709, p<.05) indicated 1.7 times higher than participants who were single in uptake HPV vaccine for their daughter. More importantly, immigrant parents with a high level of HPV awareness (OR=1.740, p<.05) showed 1.74 times higher than immigrant parents with a low level of HPV awareness in uptake HPV vaccine for their 11- to 12-year-old daughters.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings showed that in general, approximate half of first-generation immigrant parents made decisions to vaccine their daughters. Vaccine uptake was more common among those first-generation immigrant parents who resident shorter time in the U.S., who were married or partnered, and who have a high level of HPV awareness. Consist with the broad population, the status of being married and high level of HPV awareness and a positive attitude towards vaccines positively impacted the immigrants’ decisions for their children’s vaccine uptake. One critical predictor specific for first-generation immigrant parents is their residential time in the U.S. This might result from the shift of the composition of immigrants, from low-skilled immigrants in the past to educated immigrants in recent years. To promote cervical cancer prevention among second-generation immigrant girls, HPV vaccination programs should focus on narrowing disparities in new and old immigrants and on providing correct information by a reliable source, such as healthcare providers.