The association between having a household member with a cancer-related limitation and human papillomavirus vaccine uptake

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between having a household member with a cancer-related limitation (physical, mental, or emotional) and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake among females aged 9 – 17 years.

METHODS:

We analyzed 2008 National Health Interview Survey for our cross-sectional analysis. All households with females aged 9 – 17 years were eligible for inclusion in our analysis. Our outcomes of interest included HPV vaccine initiation (≥1 dose) and series completion (full 3 doses). A dichotomous variable indicating a cancer-related limitation for a household member was created if at least one adult in the household responded to having a limitation caused by cancer. We used Firth’s bias-reducing penalized likelihood for logistic regression[11] to estimate prevalence odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% profile penalized likelihood confidence intervals (CIs) for HPV vaccine uptake among young females who had a household member with a cancer-related limitation compared to young females who did not have a household member with a cancer-related limitation after adjusting for child’s age, race/ethnicity, and SES.

RESULTS:

HPV vaccine initiation and completion were higher among females aged 9-17 years who had a household member with a cancer-related limitation (Initiation: OR=1.42, 95%CI: 0.26, 5.18); Completion: OR=2.50, 95%CI: 0.26, 11.58).

CONCLUSION:

Our results suggest that females aged 9 – 17 years in the United States who have a household member with a cancer-related limitation (physical, mental, or emotional) may be more likely to initiate and complete the HPV vaccination. However, our point estimates lack precision (evident by wide confidence intervals) because of limited prevalence of the exposure in our study population.