Feasibility of Utilizing Social Media to Promote HPV Self-Collected Sampling among Medically Underserved Women in a Rural Southern City in the United States (U.S.)

Matthew Asare, Beth A. Lanning, Sher Isada, Tiffany Rose and Hadii M. Mamudu
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Matthew Asare: Department of Public Health, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences Baylor University, One Bear Place, Waco, TX 76798, USA
Beth A. Lanning: Department of Public Health, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences Baylor University, One Bear Place, Waco, TX 76798, USA
Sher Isada: Department of Public Health, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences Baylor University, One Bear Place, Waco, TX 76798, USA
Tiffany Rose: Department of Public Health, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences Baylor University, One Bear Place, Waco, TX 76798, USA
Hadii M. Mamudu: Department of Health Services Management and Policy, College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter) as communication channels have great potential to deliver Human papillomavirus self-test (HPVST) intervention to medically underserved women (MUW) such as women of low income. However, little is known about MUW’s willingness to participate in HPVST intervention delivered through social media. We evaluated factors that contribute to MUW’s intention to participate in the social media-related intervention for HPVST. Methods: A 21-item survey was administered among women receiving food from a local food pantry in a U.S. southern state. Independent variables were social media usage facilitators (including confidentiality, social support, cost, and convenience), and barriers (including misinformation, time-consuming, inefficient, and privacy concerns). Dependent variables included the likelihood of participating in social-driven intervention for HPVST. Both variables were measured on a 5-point scale. We used multinomial logistic regression to analyze the data. Results: A total of 254 women (mean age 48.9 ± 10.7 years) comprising Whites (40%), Hispanics (29%), Blacks (27%), and Other (4%) participated in the study. We found that over 44% of the women were overdue for their pap smears for the past three years, 12% had never had a pap smear, and 34% were not sure if they had had a pap smear. Over 82% reported frequent social media (e.g., Facebook) usage, and 52% reported willingness to participate in social media-driven intervention for HPVST. Women who reported that social media provide privacy (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 6.23, 95% CI: 3.56, 10.92), provide social support (AOR = 7.18, 95% CI: 4.03, 12.80), are less costly (AOR = 6.71, 95% CI: 3.80, 11.85), and are convenient (AOR = 6.17, 95% CI: 3.49, 10.92) had significantly increased odds of participating in social media intervention for HPVST. Conclusions: The findings underscore that the majority of the MUW are overdue for cervical cancer screening, regularly use social media, and are willing to participate in social media-driven intervention. Social media could be used to promote HPV self-testing among MUW.

Keywords: social media; HPV self-testing; medically underserved women; facilitators and barriers to social media use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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