Managed Care Cast

Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and causes the majority of cervical cancer cases in the country. But screening for HPV can catch the virus early and potentially prevent it from developing into cervical cancer. In addition, safe and effective vaccines against HPV exist, essentially making cervical cancer a preventable disease. However, uptake of HPV vaccines remains sporadic throughout the United States compared with other nations like the United Kingdom, where cervical cancer is nearly eliminated in young women. Furthermore, despite its prevalence, an HPV diagnosis gap exists among racial groups in the US, as White women are 3 times more likely to be told they have HPV than Black women. To dig deeper into racial disparities in HPV, Leslie Cofie, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor of health education and promotion at the College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, conducted a study to understand HPV vaccination up