HPV AND STRUCTURAL
VULNERABILITY AMONG LATINX
MIGRANT FAMILIES IN FLORIDA
Silvana Montañola and Nolan Kline PhD, MPH, CPH
BACKGROUND
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most
common sexually trasmitted infection.
Latinx migrant populations do not get
vaccinated at the same rates as other
populations in the United States.
Immigration policies can exacerbate the
barriers to vaccination, furthering the
structural vulnerabilities already at play
Existing literature insufficiently examines
how access barriers aggravate HPV
vaccination rates and how sociopolitical
factors play a role in HPV vaccine
completion.
METHODS
Community-based participatory research
with two local immigrant rights
organizations: Hope Communtiy Center
and Farmworkers Association of Florida
Participant observation
Focus groups: 4 n=16
Key informant interviews: n=2
Surveys: n=4
Participants: Latinx migrant parents with
children who are vaccine eligible for HPV.
RESULTS
Preliminary results suggest:
(1) Limited knowledge about HPV among
interviewees
(2) Avoidance of nonessential activities
(including vaccination) because of fear of
encountering police
(3) Lack of prioritization of vaccination for
HPV because it was not required for school
entry
CONCLUSIONS
Data suggests that immigration
enforcement worsens existing structural
barriers to HPV vaccination for the
Latinx migrant population
"The [doctors and nurses] do no not give us
any information about the vaccine. I, for
example, take my kid and they tell me, ‘it’s
time for his vaccine’. What if I do not ask
what it is and what if they have already
vaccinated him and I still don’t know? How
am I supposed to know if it is not written and
they have not let me know?"
-Sara, Guatemalan mother of two
“I leave my home. I take my kids to
school. I go to work. I come back from
work. I pick my kids up from school.
And we head home. And we wake up the
next day and do the exact same thing.
And once a week, I leave my house to
get groceries. And I come back. And we
do it all over again”
-Sofia, Guatemalan mother of three
“And from what I hear mostly about the
families, because this issue is like about
school, you know, some of our families don’t
even know how to read a report card. So to
them, the vaccines that the kids have are the
vaccines the schools require you to have. Or
whatever they tell you that you need to have
that’s it.”
-Key Informant, Hope Community Center
NEXT STEPS
Develop targeted informational flyers to
create a better understanding of the HPV
vaccination
Continue the study of systematic
structural barriers that prevent access to
preventive healthcare, such as the HPV
vaccination
Suggest policy change regarding
immigrants' access to healthcare
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