Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

Jill Kaspszak

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide and is mainly caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in the diagnosis of cervical cancer in women who received the HPV vaccine compared to women who did not receive the vaccine, while considering demographic factors (race, ethnicity, level of education, household income), personal risk factors (sexual orientation, cigarette use, diet, and type of contraception use), and factors affecting access to healthcare (type of healthcare coverage, delay in receiving medical care). This research study, guided by the social cognitive theory, consisted of secondary data analysis from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for the females ages 18 to 60 who were diagnosed with cervical cancer as well as those who tested negative for cervical cancer. Females may or may not have received the HPV vaccine. Data were analyzed using binomial logistic regression analysis. Ethnicity was a significant predictor of cervical cancer diagnosis, B = -1.93, OR = 0.15, p < .001, indicating that Hispanic individuals were 0.15 times as likely to have a diagnosis of cervical cancer. Based on the findings of this study, health care organizations may wish to raise awareness of cervical cancer among certain ethnic or racial groups. Furthermore, there could be a more proactive approach to cervical cancer prevention and detection. The potential positive social change that could result from this study is increased rate and timely administration of HPV vaccination for women, which may lead to lower death rates from cervical cancer.

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