QUEBEC CITY – More than half of women who denied getting the HPV vaccine also said that they had no intention of getting the vaccine in the coming year, according to a survey of women aged 15-24 years.
"Monitoring vaccine uptake can identify potential disparities in coverage and guide vaccine implementation efforts," said Nicole Liddon, Ph.D., a behavioral scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Several national estimates of HPV vaccine uptake exist in the United States, but data are limited regarding vaccination status as it relates to sexual behavior and unvaccinated women’s intent to get vaccinated, Dr. Liddon said at a congress of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research.
She and her colleagues reviewed data from the National Survey of Family Growth – a nationally representative U.S. survey – that included questions about HPV vaccination for women younger than age 25 years.
The data included 1,243 vaccinated women and 955 unvaccinated women aged 15-24 years. Of the women who reported vaccination, 23% had received at least one dose of HPV vaccine. Vaccination rates were almost twice as high among 15- to 19-year-olds, compared with 20- to 24-year-olds (30% vs. 16%)
Among the unvaccinated women, 58% of 15- to 19-year-olds and 62% of 20- to 24-year-olds said they were unlikely to get vaccinated in the coming year.
A total of 546 of the unvaccinated women gave a main reason for not being vaccinated and not planning to be vaccinated in the next year. "Not at risk/don’t need it" was the response from 33% of these women. Another 15% said that their health care provider had not recommended HPV vaccination for them, 12% said they were concerned about the vaccine’s safety and side effects, and 10% cited cost or lack of insurance coverage.
A further review of demographic data from unvaccinated women showed that Hispanic women aged 20-24 years were more likely than were younger Hispanics to say they intended to get vaccinated, and 15- to 19- year-old non-Catholics were less likely to say they intended to get vaccinated, compared with older non-Catholics.
Additional disparities were noted among 15- to 24-year-olds based on insurance status; those with insurance were more than four times as likely to be vaccinated as the uninsured were.
Among women in both age groups who were not vaccinated, those who said they were likely to get vaccinated in the future were more than twice as likely to have ever had sex, compared with those who had never had sex, Dr. Liddon noted.
"Our data do not suggest that HPV vaccination results in more risky sexual behavior," Dr. Liddon noted. However, more data are needed on the timing of HPV vaccination as it relates to sexual initiation, she said.
Dr. Liddon stated that she had no financial conflicts of interest.