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Human papillomavirus: knowledge, barriers and facilitators to access anal screening and vaccination among men who have sex with men

Louth, William (2019) Human papillomavirus: knowledge, barriers and facilitators to access anal screening and vaccination among men who have sex with men. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) experience a significantly higher risk of developing anal cancer secondary to HPV infection than men who have sex with women only (MSWO). Multiple social determinants, such as homophobia, internalized homophobia and other types of stigma play an important role in this disparity. Even though a vaccine to protect against HPV infection is available, and effective screening procedures to detect early changes of the anal mucosa secondary to HPV infection are also available, previous research suggests that there is still low uptake of vaccination, low knowledge of the association between HPV and anal cancer, and low engagement in screening procedures among MSM. In addition, there are still no national guidelines for screening recommendations among MSM. The proposed study seeks to understand the knowledge about the relationship between HPV infection and anal cancer, as well as the barriers and facilitators for screening and vaccination against HPV among MSM in Allegheny County.
Methods: The proposed study will use a theory-based electronically-delivered survey to assess the extent of knowledge about HPV among 200 MSM in Allegheny County (AC), as well as their attitudes, perceived barriers and perceived facilitators to engage in screening procedures and vaccination against HPV. In addition, this study will use spatial analysis methods (i.e. Moran’s I, local Moran’s I and spatial regression) to assess whether socioeconomic characteristics of zip code of residency and distance to providers within the county are spatially associated or spatially dependent with knowledge about HPV, and screening and vaccination against HPV.
Public Health Significance: This study will be the first to examine knowledge, screening and vaccination among MSM, as well as the first to include a spatial analysis to understand this issue in the region. The formative data collected from this study will be the basis to develop interventions tailored specifically to MSM to reduce the incidence of anal cancer and associated deaths among this population.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Louth, WilliamWIL15@pitt.eduWIL15
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairEgan, James Ejee48@pitt.edujee48
Committee MemberHo, Ken Sksh25@pitt.eduksh25
Committee MemberCoulter, Robert WSrobert.ws.coulter@pitt.edu
Date: 30 January 2019
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 30 November 2018
Approval Date: 30 January 2019
Submission Date: 27 November 2018
Access Restriction: 5 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 5 years.
Number of Pages: 48
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: School of Public Health > Behavioral and Community Health Sciences
Degree: MPH - Master of Public Health
Thesis Type: Master's Thesis
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Human Papillomavirus, Men who have sex with men, MSM, gay, HPV, anal cancer, high resolution anoscopy, anal Pap smear
Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2019 18:41
Last Modified: 01 Jan 2024 06:15
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/35616

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