Abstract
BACKGROUND: HPV vaccines are highly effective in preventing cervical, anal, and several other pre-malignant and malignant disease caused by vaccine-specific HPV types. Despite increasing public health efforts in the past decade, HPV vaccination rates among Filipino American (FA) adolescents remain suboptimal. Our knowledge is particularly limited on how provider or practice-level characteristics were linked to uptake in this population, partially due to lack of disaggregated data. METHODS: This study analyzed a sample of 669 FA adolescents, aged 13-17, using data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (2015-2019). The aim was to identify risk factors affecting HPV vaccine uptake and completion in FA adolescents, and to compare these findings with those of an aggregate Asian American sample. Survey-weighted multivariate logistic regression was conducted to examine multilevel factors associated with vaccination. RESULTS: Slightly over two-thirds (69.02%) of FA adolescents received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, but only about one-third (37.65%) completed the regimen. About three quarters (74.16%) reported receiving a recommendation from their provider for the HPV vaccine, and 70.97% reported having a pediatrician. Logistic regression results showed that both provider's recommendation and having a pediatrician were significant predictors of higher likelihoods of initiation and completion of HPV vaccine series (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide implications for improving clinical practices to promote HPV vaccine uptake in FA adolescents. Strategies to consider include raising awareness, cultural competency, and communication approaches among physicians, especially non-pediatricians. In addition, our findings highlighted the importance of disaggregating Asian American data to better understand the unique needs of detailed Asian ethnic groups.