“because he's a doctor!” photo-elicitation as a tool to identify young women's perceptions of sexual partner HPV infection status

PURPOSE: Photo-elicitation was utilized to examine how young women (YW) conceptualize HPV infection risk when assessing potential sexual partners. METHODS: As part of a larger study, participants included 27 African American heterosexual YW (ages 14-17) recruited from Indianapolis, IN. YW met with the interviewer once for approximately 2.5 hours. During the interview, YW were asked to sort 50 photographs into three categories, “probably has HPV” (has HPV) “not sure about HPV status” (unsure) and “probably doesn't have HPV” (doesn't have HPV). Photographs were obtained from publically-available online resources. Next, photographs were ranked in order with the top photograph being most representative of each category. Lastly, the placement of photographs within each category were discussed at length. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded using inductive content analysis. RESULTS: Preliminary analyses indicate five major themes within the has HPV category including bad boy/ partier/ player, appearance, being coupled, bad decision-making and sex-only relationships. Within the unsure category, the overwhelming majority of YW identified the theme of suspicion of true character. Other themes included questioning sexuality, hard-working with an inability to asses after work behavior and having money. Five themes were identified within the doesn't have HPV category. The most significant theme was being in a specific profession (i.e., physician), followed by difficulty attracting women, being proactive about one's health, monogamy, and a relationship with God. CONCLUSION: Nuances are involved in YW's perception of HPV partner risk. These dynamics should be incorporated into public health interventions to reduce HPV-disease burden among this population.