Evaluation of the relationship between Human Papilloma Virus knowledge level and vaccination in adult individuals: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim The study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge levels of sexually active individuals about Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), HPV screening test, and HPV vaccine and raise awareness. Subject and methods A cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. The data were completed with 150 sexually active participants between the ages of 18–49. The “Personal Information Form” and “HPV Knowledge Scale” were used to collect data. The data were collected on the online platform via Google Surveys using snowball sampling between September 19 and October 19, 2022. Results The average sexual age of the participants was 21.16 ± 2.2 years for women and 21.16 ± 2.2 years for men. The education levels of the participants were 47 (62.66%) of the women and 56 (74.66%) of the men, respectively, university graduates, and 58 (77.33%) of the women and 66 (88.00%) of the men stated that they were public employees. It was found that the average HPV Knowledge Scale (HPV-KS) score of the participants was 16.09 ± 6.11 in women and 12.26 ± 6.34 in men, respectively, and the level of HPV knowledge in women was significantly higher than in men (p = 0.017). Women were determined to be more knowledgeable about HPV vaccine administrations than men, which was statistically significant (p = 0.003). However, men were revealed to be administered more HPV vaccines than women, and the result was statistically significant (p = 0.042). The analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between knowledge scores between those who had received the vaccine and those who had not and HPV awareness (p = 0.000). Conclusion The results indicated that individuals who had their first sexual experience at an earlier age and possessed a higher level of education were more likely to be receptive to the HPV vaccine.