Abstract 1785: Sociodemographic correlates of knowledge and risk perception of HPV and HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer

Abstract

Purpose To analyze how key sociodemographic variables correlate with risk perception and knowledge of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer in the community. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at a drag racing event on September 12-13, 2015 in Madison, Illinois. The independent variables were sociodemographic factors including age, gender, race, income level, education level, drinking history, smoking history, and number of sexual partners. The outcome variables were HPV risk perception and knowledge of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, both derived from combining questionnaire items to form knowledge and perception scores. Multivariable linear regression analysis assessed the predictors of risk perception and knowledge of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. Results Final sample population was 301. Mean risk perception score was 2.16 ± 1.37 out of 6, and mean knowledge score was 5.65 ± 4.63 out of 15. In multivariable linear regression, race and education were significant predictors of HPV risk perception. Compared to Caucasians, African Americans had a lower perceived risk of developing oropharyngeal cancer (β = -0.35; 95% CI: -0.69 - -0.02). Participants with ≤ high school diploma had a lower perceived risk of developing oropharyngeal cancer compared to those with ≥ college degree (β = -0.60; 95% CI: -1.05 - -0.15). Age, gender, race and education were significant predictors of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer knowledge in multivariable analysis. For every one year increase in age, HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer knowledge decreased by 5%. Men had lower HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer knowledge (β = -1.30; 95% CI: -2.35 - -0.26) as were African Americans compared to Caucasians (β = -1.30; 95% CI: -2.36 - -0.25). Participants with ≤ high school diploma had lower HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer knowledge compared to those with ≥ college degree (β = -3.33; 95% CI: -4.75 - -1.91). Conclusions Age and gender were independent predictors of knowledge of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, while race and education predict both knowledge and risk perception of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. The sociodemographic correlates demonstrated in our study should inform future interventions targeted at increasing knowledge of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer in the community. Citation Format: Betty Y. Chen, Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, Eric Adjei Boakeye, Jennifer Clancy, Jonathan Su, Patrice Vallot, Geoffrey Beck, Ronald J. Walker, Mark A. Varvares. Sociodemographic correlates of knowledge and risk perception of HPV and HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1785.

Communicating risk of medication side-effects: role of communication format on risk perception

“…The high education level may have impacted the interpretation of risks associated with side-effects as education may impact knowledge about a particular behavior, event or understanding about the same. 42 Other factors that might affect risk perception were not taken into consideration and may have affected risk perceptions. Finally, no information was collected on the individuals who did not agree to participate in the study.…”