Racial Disparity in Receiving a Physician Recommendation for Human Papillomavirus Vaccine among US Adolescent Girls: Trend from 2008 to 2012

Abstract

Abstract To examine the trend of racial disparity in receiving a physician recommendation for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among US adolescent girls. Methods: We analyzed National Immunization Survey of Teens (NIS-Teen) 2008–2012 data and examined the trend of racial disparity in receiving a physician recommendation for HPV vaccine among 13–17 year old US adolescent girls. Results: Overall, the weighted proportion of girls who received a physician recommendation was 49.2%, 57.0%, 54.9%, 58.8% and 65.3% in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively (p for trend <0.001). The respective weighted proportion for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic girls were: 53.6%, 60.7%, 59.0%, 63.4% and 70.2%; 42.7%, 50.0%, 46.3%, 52.5% and 62.8%; and 40.0%, 50.8%, 48.0%, 51.4% and 56.5% (P < 0.001 for all 5 years). After adjusting for demographic characteristics, separate weighted analysis for each year of data showed that non-Hispanic black and Hispanic girls were less likely to receive a physician recommendation than non-Hispanic white girls (P < 0.01 for all 5 years). However, there was no significant difference between Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic girls (P > 0.05 for all 5 years). Conclusions: Reasons for racial disparity in receiving a physician recommendation need to be identified and addressed to achieve the desired level of HPV vaccine uptake among US adolescent girls, irrespective of race/ethnicity.