Disparities in Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Literacy and Vaccine Completion Among Asian American Pacific Islander Undergraduates: Implications for Cancer Health Equity

Abstract

Purpose: Low rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among young Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women need to be addressed, particularly given the high incidence of cervical cancer in this population. The current study aims to investigate predictors of HPV vaccination in young AAPI and non-Latina white (NLW) women. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted of a health survey administered to college-aged women (N = 2,270) at a large public university in the Midwest. Andersen's behavioral model of health services utilization guided the study theoretically, and hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate research aim. Results: NLW women had a significantly higher rate of vaccine completion than AAPI women (NLW = 60.7%; AAPI = 38.6%). NLW women also scored higher on all 5 measures of HPV vaccine literacy than AAPI women. Both groups of undergraduate women reported that increasing age, knowledge about HPV, greater use of gynecological services, and knowing someone who had cancer were significant factors related to HPV vaccination completion. In the NLW group, father's income was also found to be a predictor of HPV vaccination completion. Conclusions: Rate and predictors of HPV vaccination completion vary between NLW and AAPI women. Greater promotion of HPV literacy and gynecological service use should be made to young AAPI women to increase their HPV uptake. Further research should examine sociocultural factors that could hinder or promote HPV vaccination in young AAPI women.     

Saving public pensions: Labor migration effects on pension systems in European countries

European countries have experienced population aging and consequent pressure on public pensions. Some European countries, therefore, have welcomed migrants, expecting that the inflow of people will ease the demographic and fiscal problems. It is important to ask if this policy approach has had the intended effects. This paper examines the effects of labor migration on public pension systems. Using error correction models (ECMs) with cross-country time-series data on European countries from 1981 to 2009, this analysis demonstrates that labor migration has deterred the reduction of public pension benefit levels and government expenditure on pension as well as the expansion of private pensions. This implies that labor migration eases the pressure on public pension systems. Migration contributory effects have been larger in countries with Bismarckian pension systems because those countries have experienced greater pressure on public pension systems than other countries.     

Independence distribution preserving joint covariance structures for the multivariate two-group case

We characterize the general nonnegative-definite and positive-definite joint observation covariance structures for the two-group case such that the two sample mean vectors are independent of the two corresponding sample covariance matrices. Also, the sample covariance matrices are distributed as independent noncentral or central Wishart random matrices. We derive and utilize a representation of the general common non-negative-definite solution to a particular system of matrix equations with idempotent coefficient matrices.     

Probability inequalities for continuous unimodal random variables with finite support

A paramecer-free Bernstein-type upper bound is derived for the probability that the sum S of n i.i.d, unimodal random variables with finite support, X₁ ,X₂,…,X_n, exceeds its mean E(S) by the positive value nt. The bound for P{S - nμ ≥ nt} depends on the range of the summands, the sample size n, the positive number t, and the type of unimodality assumed for X_i. A two-sided Gauss-type probability inequality for sums of strongly unimodal random variables is also given. The new bounds are contrasted to Hoeffding's inequality for bounded random variables and to the Bienayme-Chebyshev inequality. Finally, the new inequalities are applied to a classic probability inequality example first published by Savage (1961).     

Generalizing the Welch Test To Non-Zero Hypotheses on the Variance Component in the One-Way Random Effects Model Under Variance Heterogeneity

In an unbalanced and heteroscedastic one-way random effects model of analysis of variance we consider hypotheses concerning the between group variance where in a classical set-up the hypothesis whether this variance component is zero is tested. We consider the still open problem of testing also extended hypotheses concerning this parameter and generalize the prominent Welch test to deal with these hypotheses, too.     

Bayesian inference for comparing two Poisson rates using data subject to underreporting and validation data

We derive a new Bayesian credible interval estimator for comparing two Poisson rates when counts are underreported and an additional validation data set is available. We provide a closed-form posterior density for the difference between the two rates that yields insightful information on which prior parameters influence the posterior the most. We also apply the new interval estimator to a real-data example, investigate the performance of the credible interval, and examine the impact of informative priors on the rate difference posterior via Monte Carlo simulations.     

Who Plays What? Participation Profiles in Chance Versus Skill-based Gambling

To determine whether gambling participation falls into skill and chance-based categories and, if so, to determine the socio-demographic characteristics associated with these different categories. A cross-sectional analysis of all respondents to the 2005 Northern Territory Gambling Prevalence Survey who gambled in the 12 months prior to the survey. Factor analysis was employed to determine whether a chance versus skill-based dichotomy described the structure of gambling participation. Gambler preference groups were constructed using the median of rotated factor scores. Multinomial logit regression was then used to determine independent associations between explanatory variables and categories of gambler preferences. The skill and chance-based dichotomy did describe player preferences for the sample of adult gamblers in the Northern Territory, Australia. Gender, age, household income, household structure and the geographic location (access to gambling opportunities) of respondents were all associated with different degrees of participation in skill and chance based gambling activities. Notably, respondents 35 years and over were significantly over-represented in the low-skill/high-chance participation group, and under-represented in the high-skill/low-chance group. It is clear that the term gambling is a confounding rubric that hides differences both in the type of activity and the socio-demographic profiles of participants. An examination of the latter raises important questions about the role of chance in later life, as well as the role of self-determination in gambling for other groups, particularly younger men.     

Contests with group-specific public-good prizes

We examine the equilibrium effort levels of individual players and groups in contests in which n groups compete to win a group-specific public-good prize, the individual players choose their effort levels simultaneously and independently, and the probability of winning for each group depends on the groups’ effort levels. In the basic model, we show that, in each group, only the highest-valuation players expend positive effort and the rest expend zero effort; there is underinvestment in the contest for the group as a whole. Next, in the main model in which the players are budget-constrained, we show that low-valuation players free ride on high-valuation players’ contributions, not vice versa, but the free-rider problem is “alleviated” as compared with the basic model.     

Effects of Parent Effectiveness Training Program on Family Communication and Flexibility of Korean Parents

This study examines the effects of an 8‐week Parent Effective Training (PET) program on family communication and flexibility. Forty‐two pairs of Korean parents were randomly assigned to either an experimental group that provided the PET program or a control group that did not offer the program. The two groups were compared on pre‐, post‐, and follow‐up measures of PAC(Parent‐Adolescent Communication), ENRICH(Enriching and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness), and FACES(Family Adaptability Cohesion Evaluation Scale), while controlling for the effects of socio‐demographic variables. Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed significant improvements in family communication between parents and children and between the husband and the wife but no such improvements in family flexibility. These findings suggest that the PET program is a useful short‐term tool for Korean parents wishing to enhance family communication.