# Evaluating HPV Vaccination Uptake Barriers and its Efficacy in PLWH

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA · 2024 · $92,787

## Abstract

Men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM), women, and transgenders who are people living with HIV (PLWH) are
faced with the health disparity of high anal cancer/dysplasia rates. Despite the increased risk and incidence,
personal barriers related perception, stigma, access to care, fear, and anxiety of anal disease result in a health
disparity gap. It is known the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent for anal cancer/dysplasia but
many PLWH are not vaccinated and there is limited data on its efficacy and effectiveness in PLWH. The health
disparity is further compounded by the racial/cultural diversity of PLWH in Hawaii. This project seeks to
address this health disparity gap that is experienced by Hawaii’s PLWH by understanding uptake barriers,
improving their understanding of possible HPV vaccination benefits, and to determine the vaccine’s efficacy
and effectiveness in this unique population. We propose to determine uptake following healthcare provider
promotion and determine clinical outcomes in Hawaii’s PLWH. Our central hypotheses are that Hawaii’s PLWH
experience a spectrum of barriers that impact HPV vaccination uptake but HPV vaccine promotion by a
healthcare provider can increase awareness and increase uptake. Further, measurement of HPV antibody
levels will be correlated with clinical outcomes. The significance is to generate critical knowledge which will
improve vaccination rates in PLWH in Hawaii and thus reduce the anal cancer/dysplasia health disparity
observed in this population which may contribute to the increased anal cancer/dysplasia rates and gain a
better understanding of the immune response from the vaccine. The objective is to gain a better
understanding of HPV uptake barriers, which is essential to promotion and increasing knowledge and
awareness. We propose: 1) To identify personal barriers faced by Hawaii’s PLWH that impact HPV vaccination
uptake and 2) To measure clinical outcomes of the HPV vaccine in Hawaii’s PLWH.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10854679
- **Project number:** 3U54MD007601-38S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jerris Robert Hedges
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $92,787
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1997-09-23 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10854679

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10854679, Evaluating HPV Vaccination Uptake Barriers and its Efficacy in PLWH (3U54MD007601-38S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10854679. Licensed CC0.

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