Abstract
Changes in cervical cancer screening guidelines and persistent disparities indicate a need to identify communication preferences for receiving a positive HPV test result to ensure appropriate follow-up care. We conducted a directed content analysis guided by the tenets of self-determination theory of 575 written responses derived from a national sample of women > 18 in the United States. Biologically female women responded to a prompt about communication preferences for a positive HPV test result. Pearson chi-square analyses were conducted to discover differences in communication preferences. Individuals with health insurance (p = 0.044), those with >$29,999 in annual household income (p = 0.040), and White participants (p = 0.026), more frequently indicated a preference for communication related to autonomy compared to other groups. Hispanic/Latino participants more frequently indicated a preference for relatedness in communication (p = 0.003). Implications include that communication should (a) focus on the meaning of results and HPV’s relationship to cancer (i.e., competence) and what a woman can specifically do to follow up (i.e., autonomy); (b) incorporate elements that build autonomy to encourage clinical follow-up in populations that less frequently mention autonomy-based communication; and (c) build culturally competent communication by embodying the concept of “personalismo,” or friendliness, for Hispanic/Latino patients.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
53
Issue
1
First Page
7
Last Page
28
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Scott, Susanna Foxworthy; Head, Katharine J.; Johnson, Nicole L.; Kruer, Kaitlyn; and Zimet, Gregory D.
(2021)
"Communicating Positive HPV Test Results: A Directed Content Analysis of Women's Preferences Using Self-Determination Theory,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 53:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol53/iss1/4
Copyright
©2021 Iowa Communication Association
