ASPO Abstracts
Oral Health Students’ Willingness to Train and Administer the HPV Vaccine in Dental Practices
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
Purpose of the study:HPV oropharyngeal cancers have now surpassed cervical cancer rates in the United States. Dental providers’ engagement in HPV education and vaccination efforts may help reduce the burden of HPV oropharyngeal cancers. We examined factors associated with oral health students’ willingness to train and administer the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in dental settings. Methods:United states dental and dental hygienist students in 15 oral health programs participated in an online survey in 2015. Data from a total of N=306 students were analyzed to examine sociodemographic, educational, practice, and attitudinal factors associated with willingness to train and administer the HPV vaccine. Unadjusted and multivariable logistic regression were conducted and odds ratios (OR), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and p-values (p<0.05) were reported. Analyses were conducted in SAS Version 9.4. Results:Receiving HPV vaccination information from professional journals or publications was positively associated with attitudinal factors and willingness to train and administer the HPV vaccine (p<0.05). Agreeing that HPV vaccination recommendation (OR=1.95, 95%CI=1.14-3.35, p=0.015) and administration (OR=3.79, 95% CI=1.63-8.81, p=0.002) was in the dental professional’s scope was positively associated with these outcome measures when other factors were held constant. Students with greater patient contact time (OR=4.47, 95% CI=1.14-17.58, p=0.032) and lower role conflict (agreed that HPV vaccine administration was in the dental professional’s scope) had higher odds of willingness to administer the HPV vaccine when other factors were held constant (5.9, 95% CI=2.27- 15.3, p<0.001). The major barrier to engaging oral health students in HPV vaccination efforts was role conflict. Conclusions:Informed oral health professionals were receptive to participation in HPV vaccination training and to administration of the HPV vaccine in their dental practices. Professional organizations and oral health programs should strongly support the role of oral health professionals in HPV oropharyngeal cancer prevention.
Keywords: papillomavirus vaccines; preventive dentistry; oropharyngeal cancer; health services research; dental health education