People Living With HIV, Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer, and Health Equity

This is an exploratory qualitative study among People Living With HIV (PLWH) of diverse racial/ethnic and sexual and gender minority (SGM) identities to explore individual, interpersonal, and structural oral health equity factors that serve as barriers or facilitators of accessing oral health care, knowledge and perceptions of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) /Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), and to collect recommendations on how to increase access to oral health care and engage PLWH in OSCC/OPSCC prevention.

OBJECTIVES: 1. To identify individual, interpersonal, and structural oral health equity factors (e.g., internalized stigma; enacted stigma; transportation/hours) that serve as barriers or facilitators to accessing regular and appropriate oral health care, among PLWH of intersecting racial/ethnic and SGM groups. 2. To explore knowledge and perceptions about causes, risk factors, prevention, and screening for OSCC/OPSCC and HPV vaccination and if identity group membership influences knowledge and perceptions of these issues. 3. To elicit recommendations for improving access to regular and appropriate oral health care, and suggestions on how to engage PLWH from diverse identity groups in prevention interventions. OUTLINE: There will be one screening and enrollment phone call and only one study visit for the Focus Group Discussions (FDGs). A short quantitative survey will be administered.