Patient-provider communication with HIV-positive women about abnormal Pap test results

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors examine communication between women living with human immunodeficiency virus (WLH) and health care providers (HCPs) regarding abnormal Pap tests. During the period of March 2011 through April 2012, 145 WLH were recruited from Ryan White funded clinics and community-based AIDS service organizations located in the southeastern United States. WLH who had an abnormal Pap test (69%, n = 100/145) were asked if their HCP shared and explained information about abnormal Pap tests. The authors performed chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression analyses using Stata I/C 13. HCPs shared information about abnormal Pap tests with 60% of participants, and explained the information they shared to 78% of those. Health literate participants were more than three times as likely to have read the information received about abnormal Pap tests (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19–10.23), and almost five times as likely to have understood the cancer information they read (aOR = 4.70, 95% CI 1.55–14.24). Knowing other women who had had an abnormal Pap test was not significantly associated with cancer information seeking or processing after controlling for confounding factors. The present findings underscore the need to increase WLH’s health literacy as an intermediate step to improving patient–provider communication among WLH. Lay sources of cancer information for WLH warrant further study.

KEYWORDS:

• Cervical cancer
• health literacy
• HIV
• HPV
• information seeking

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the following academic-community partners (in alphabetical order) with whom they collaborated on this research study: A Family Affair (Orangeburg, SC, USA); HopeHealth—Edisto Region (Orangeburg, SC, USA); Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services (Columbia, SC, USA); University of South Carolina’s Immunology Center, formerly Midlands Care Consortium (Columbia, SC, USA). The authors also acknowledge Jametta S. Magwood, PhD(c), MPH, and Neethu Sebastian, MPH for their assistance with data collection and data cleaning activities.

Funding

Financial support for the conduct of this research study and preparation of this original empirical research article was provided by the following grant awards that were funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH): National Cancer Institute (NCI; U01CA114601-05S4, PI: Hébert; K01CA175239, PI: Wigfall; K05CA136975, PI: Hébert; U54CA153461, PI: Hébert); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) U48/DP001936; PI: Friedman, Co-PI: Hébert, Co-I: Brandt; National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (P20MD001770, PI:Glover). The contents of this manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH, NCI, CDC, NIMHD, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, or the Department of Defense.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support for the conduct of this research study and preparation of this original empirical research article was provided by the following grant awards that were funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH): National Cancer Institute (NCI; U01CA114601-05S4, PI: Hébert; K01CA175239, PI: Wigfall; K05CA136975, PI: Hébert; U54CA153461, PI: Hébert); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) U48/DP001936; PI: Friedman, Co-PI: Hébert, Co-I: Brandt; National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (P20MD001770, PI:Glover). The contents of this manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH, NCI, CDC, NIMHD, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, or the Department of Defense.