Relationship between religiosity and HPV vaccine initiation and intention in urban black and hispanic parents

Deidra Carroll Coleman; Christine Markham; Vincent Guilamo-Ramos; Diane Santa Maria

doi:10.1186/s12889-024-17653-4

Relationship between religiosity and HPV vaccine initiation and intention in urban black and hispanic parents

BMC Public Health. 2024 Jan 23;24(1):265. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17653-4.

Authors

Deidra Carroll Coleman¹, Christine Markham², Vincent Guilamo-Ramos³, Diane Santa Maria⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Disparities Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1400 Pressler St., Unit. 1440, 77030, Houston, TX, USA. dccoleman@mdanderson.org.
² Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 77030, Houston, TX, USA.
³ Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health, Duke University School of Nursing, 27710, Durham, MC, USA.
⁴ Department of Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Cizik School of Nursing, 77030, Houston, TX, USA.

Abstract

Objective: Religion is believed to be an important sociocultural influence in the U.S., but little is known about how religiosity shapes the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine decision in racial/ethnic minorities. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between religiosity and HPV vaccine initiation and intention among urban, racial/ethnic minority parents of adolescents 11-14 years old.

Design: This study employed a descriptive, cross-sectional design using baseline data from Black and Hispanic parents (N = 175 and 285, respectively) recruited from medically underserved communities. Chi-square tests for independence and independent-samples t-tests were run to assess sociodemographic differences in vaccine initiation and vaccine intention. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether religious attendance and religious salience were associated with parents' HPV vaccine decisions for their children.

Results: Approximately 47% of Black parents had vaccinated their youth against HPV. Of those who had not initiated the vaccine for their child, 54% did not intend to do so. 54% of Hispanic parents had initiated the HPV vaccine for their youth. Of those who had not initiated the vaccine for their child, 51% did not intend to do so. Frequency of attendance at religious services and the importance of religion in one's life was not significantly correlated with HPV vaccine decision-making for Black nor Hispanic parents.

Conclusion: This study suggests that religiosity does not influence the HPV vaccine decision for urban, Black and Hispanic parents. Future studies using measures that capture the complexity of religion as a social construct are needed to confirm the findings. In addition, studies with representative sampling will enable us to make generalizations about the influence of religion on HPV vaccine decision-making for urban, racial/ethnic minority parents.

Keywords: African American; HPV vaccine; Healthcare disparities; Hispanic; Human papillomavirus; Religion.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Black or African American
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Intention
Minority Groups
Papillomavirus Infections* / prevention & control
Papillomavirus Vaccines* / administration & dosage
Parents
Religion*
Vaccination* / psychology

Substances

Papillomavirus Vaccines

Grants and funding

R15 HD081364/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States