Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, Practices Regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and Barriers to Vaccination Against HPV Infection: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Guam Residents.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and is linked to several cancers. In Guam, the HPV vaccination rate falls short of the National Healthy People 2030 goal. Only half of eligible Guam teens have received the HPV vaccination series.

Utilizing Filipino key informants to guide community outreach for cancer prevention in Hawai'i.

Objective/design: The University of Hawai'i Cancer Center works with academic and community partners to examine health disparities and inequities that persist among Pacific Island Populations through the Pacific Island Partnership for Cancer Health Equity (PIPCHE). The Partnership's Community Outreach Core (COC) assists and promotes cancer research and helps to ensure the integration of historically excluded community perspectives by utilizing community-engaged and culturally-grounded approaches to reduce cancer burdens. However, cancer health disparities among Filipinos demonstrate a need for cancer-control initiatives within this community.

Cervical Cancer and HPV Knowledge and Awareness: An Educational Intervention among College Students in Guam.

Background: Compared to the U.S. population, cervical cancer (CC) incidence is significantly higher among the CHamoru, Micronesian, and Caucasian populations in Guam.

Acculturation and Cancer Risk Behaviors among Pacific Islanders in Hawaii.

Background: To communicate research to the public, the National Cancer Institute developed the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). However, as with most national health surveillance, including the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, HINTS data are not sufficient to address unique demographic subpopulations such as US Pacific Islanders (PIs). National sampling methods do not adequately reach participants from small, medically underserved populations.

Cultural Considerations for Conducting the Health Information National Trends Survey with Micronesian Communities: Lessons from a Qualitative Study.

A critical barrier to addressing health disparities among minorities is the lack of data, particularly on Pacific Islanders. Typically, national health surveillance systems do not have the resources to ensure proper representation of these small population groups. This study reports factors that guided the cultural adaptation and administration of the National Cancer Institute's Health Information Trends National Survey (HINTS) for a United States-dwelling Pacific Islander population in Hawai'i.

Using a Short Message System to Increase Cervical Cancer Screening Uptake among Chuukese Women in Guam: Lessons Learned from Linking Distance Technology Between Carriers and Using Telehealth Communication in a Cross-Cultural Context.

This paper reports on a project aimed at using a short message system (SMS) to increase cervical cancer screening uptake among Chuukese women in Guam. It documents the process and identifies the unexpected challenges which led to the early termination of the study. Although the original aims of the project were not met, there were some lessons learned about technology incompatibility in the context of Guam's and the United States' cell phone technology interface, the cultural nuances of cell phone use in the study population, and the necessity to follow a protocol for the termination of a project.

The efficacy of respondent-driven sampling for the health assessment of minority populations.

Background: Respondent driven sampling (RDS) is a relatively new network sampling technique typically employed for hard-to-reach populations. Like snowball sampling, initial respondents or "seeds" recruit additional respondents from their network of friends. Under certain assumptions, the method promises to produce a sample independent from the biases that may have been introduced by the non-random choice of "seeds.

Intergenerational communication across cultures: young people's perceptions of conversations with family elders, non-family elders and same-age peers.

Young adults from three Western (Canada, U.S.A.