Discussing HPV and oropharyngeal cancer in dental settings: gender and provider-type matter

Figures & data

Table 1. Summary of demographic variables

	N	(%)
Age
18–24	121	40.6%
25–34	102	34.2%
35–45	75	25.2%
Gender
Female	159	53.4%
Male	139	46.6%
Race
American Indian/Alaskan Native	3	1.0%
Asian	15	5.0%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	1	0.3%
Black or African American	79	26.5%
White or Caucasian	171	57.4%
Multiracial	8	2.7%
Other	21	7.0%
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino	74	24.7%
Sexual Orientation
Straight/Heterosexual	254	85.2%
Sexual Minority	44	14.8%
Relationship Status
Single, dating or uncommitted	154	51.7%
Committed or married	131	44.0%
Separated/divorced or Widowed/widower	13	4.4%

N = 298.

Table 2. Mean responses (SD) of survey items pertaining to OPC risk factors

Statement	Total
I would feel comfortable if my dentist or dental hygienist …
… talked to me about alcohol as a risk factor for head and neck cancers.	3.85
	(0.98)
… talked to me about tobacco as a risk factor for head and neck cancers.	3.86
	(0.95)
… talked to me about sun damage as a risk factor for head and neck cancers.	3.81
	(0.98)
… talked to me about HPV as a risk factor for head and neck cancers.	3.71
	(1.07)

Scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree. Males (n = 139) and females (n = 159). Paired t-test results: alcohol vs HPV (t = 2.839, p = .005), tobacco vs HPV (t = 2.972, p = .003), sun damage vs HPV (t = 2.214, p = .028).

Table 3. Results of 3-way analysis of variance by participant and provider gender and by provider type

Source	F	η^2	p
Participant gender	3.265	.011	.072
Provider gender	10.181	.033	.002
Provider type	0.545	.002	.461
Provider gender x participant gender	14.035	.045	<.001
Provider type x participant gender	0.000	.000	1.000
Provider type x provider gender	1.652	.006	.200
Provider gender x participant gender x provider type	0.607	.002	.436

df for all F-tests are 1, 296. We included race in the ANOVA. It was not significant nor were any of its interactions. Therefore, in the interest of parsimony, it is not reported in this model.

Figure 1. Comfort discussing HPV with dental providers by respondent gender and provider gender.