Low Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in a Low-Income Urban Population

Despite widespread availability of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines and recommendations for routine use, awareness and uptake of HPV vaccination are not universal. We assessed self-reported history of HPV vaccination in a sample of low-income men and women recruited from the community using respondent-driven sampling as part of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) survey in San Francisco. Of the 384 respondents, a minority (12.5%) reported they had received the HPV vaccine. In multivariate analysis, independent associations with HPV vaccination history were female sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.73, 8.17]), younger age (AOR = 0.89 per year, 95% CI = [0.86, 0.92]), and education above high school (AOR = 2.84, 95% CI = [1.37, 5.90]). Missed opportunities for HPV vaccination were evident in 84.4% of respondents having visited a health care provider in the last year, including 40.1% tested for a sexually transmitted infection, and entry into higher education programs (33.4%).