HPV and Pap testing among white, black, and hispanic women: results from a survey study

While the Pap test, HPV vaccine, and HPV test are important tools to promote cervical health, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recently updated its cervical cancer prevention recommendations to give primacy to HPV testing for cervical cancer screening. We investigate how women’s health providers view these changes, and the extent to which they have reached American women. To do so, we present results from a novel two-survey study of women’s health providers (N = 558) and White, Black, and Hispanic women (N = 1900). We find that a minority of providers report that the HPV test alone is adequate for cervical cancer screening (18%, CI = 14%, 21%) while 96% (CI = 94%, 97%) indicated that women should regularly have both Pap and HPV screenings. Black (88% CI = 86%, 91%) and Hispanic (87% CI = 84%, 89%) women report lower rates of Pap tests compared to White women (94%, CI = 92%, 96%). Only 35% (CI = 33%, 37%) of women report having had an HPV test, and these levels were similar across groups. White (29%, CI = 25%, 33%) and Hispanic women (26% CI = 23%, 29%) report statistically similar levels of provider recommendation for joint Pap-HPV testing, while Black women report statistically lower rates (22%, CI = 18%, 25%). These patterns hold after controlling for several important socio-demographic variables in logistic regression models. The continued lower rates of Pap tests among Black and Hispanic women, combined with low rates of HPV testing is likely to hinder the ability to reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality, particularly for Hispanic and Black women. © 2021, The Author(s).