Awareness and Knowledge Levels of 18-Year-Old and Older Individuals Regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV Vaccine in Hatay, Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and awareness levels of 18-year-old and older women and men on HPV infection, HPV vaccine, and the potential risk factors in Hatay, Turkey. In our study, it was found that overall 27.0 and 23.2% of the participants reported having heard of HPV infection and HPV vaccine. The rate of participants who had heard of HPV infection and HPV vaccine was higher in women than in men (p < 0.000). Thirteen percent of the participants was aware of the fact that HPV triggers cervical cancer, 10.2% penile cancer, and 16.7% genital warts, respectively. The overall vaccination rate of the participants was 2.7%. When the total knowledge score of the participants about HPV infection and HPV vaccine was evaluated according to independent variables, it was found that being a woman, urbanization, and having a high level of education had a positive effect on knowledge score, while never having heard of HPV infection and HPV vaccine had a negative effect on knowledge score (p < 0.000). It was determined in the linear regression model that gender, educational status, residential area, and having heard of HPV infection before influenced knowledge levels. It was determined that the relation between these variables and the total knowledge scores of the participants was statistically significant (p < 0.05). It was also determined that women who had higher educational levels, those who were living in urban areas, and those who had heard HPV infection before had higher knowledge levels. The level of knowledge of the participants about HPV infection and HPV vaccine was found to be very low. Having adequate knowledge about HPV infection and increasing the acceptance of HPV vaccination in public will play an important role in decreasing the rate of mortality and morbidity of the different HPV-associated cancers in women and men.

Knowledge of Cervical Cancer and Human Papillomavirus Vaccines among Child-Bearing Aged Women in Hanoi, Vietnam

“…Concerning HPV vaccination, the majority of respondents lacked knowledge thereof, with a mean of 1.53 (SD=1.35) questions answered correctly for a total of five questions. Similarly, low mean scores have often been reported elsewhere (Do et al, 2009;Halliday et al, 2013;Fernandez et al, 2014;Kruiroongroj et al, 2014;Perlman et al, 2014;Koc and Cinarli, 2015;Strohl et al, 2015;Bodson et al, 2016;Yu et al, 2016;Turhan et al, 2019). Furthermore, in the current study, knowledge scores for HPV vaccination were markedly lower among women living in a rural area than among those residing in an urban area.…”

Assessment of knowledge about human papillomavirus vaccination among primary school girls in Arba Minch town, South Ethiopia, 2020. An institution-based cross-sectional study

“…The overall knowledge score of this study was 71.7% CI 95%(67.6_75.4), which is lower than the studies conducted in Australia 97.4% [17], Zambia 98.7% [18], and higher than USA47.5% [19], china 15.7% [13], Taiwan7.49% [20], Spain 67% [12], Grace59.1% [21], and Turkey 23.2% [22], Nigeria 23% [23], Serbia 14.2% [24] ,Ghana 40%(14), and Ethiopia(AddisAbaba13% [25], and Jimma 43.8% [11]. These dissimilarities may be due to the differences in culture and information access, differences in education institutions' structure, sampling procedures and tools, and the cut-off points to define the level of knowledge.…”

Awareness and Knowledge about Human Papilloma Virus Infection among Students at Secondary Occupational Health School in China

“…In this study, the rates of the participants who knew that HPV could cause CC and genital warts were 25.8% and 22.4%. A study conducted in Turkey among people more than 17 years old, reported that corresponding rates were 13% and 16.7% [ 25 ]. The rates of the awareness of CC, HPV and HPV vaccine were higher than peer students in China [ 18 ], which might be due to the fact that most of our respondents were majored in medical specialty.…”

“…In our study, female students knew more about CC and HPV-related cancers compared to males, while there was no sex difference in awareness of HPV and HPV vaccine and knowledge of other detailed information about HPV, which was similar to a study among the junior middle school students [ 18 ]. However, a published literature showed that women knew more than men in knowledge about HPV infection and HPV vaccine [ 25 ]. Due to the tendentiousness of these cancers, females might have more opportunities to get related information from outside.…”