Genital human papillomavirus infection: Common but not trivial

Abstract

One of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases is genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Because of its potentially serious consequences for women, HPV infection is receiving a significant amount of attention from researchers and clinicians. We summarize the research and clinical literature on HPV infection. The nature of the virus, the prevalence of HPV infection, and modes of transmission are discussed. Both the physiological and psychological consequences of the infection are explored. Perspectives on treatment are examined, and suggestions for psychoeducational interventions are offered.

Bad Girls and Fallen Women: Chronic STD Diagnoses as Gateways to Tribal Stigma

“…Thus, it is very important to assess the meaning the individual assigns to the infection. (Keller, Egan, and Mims 1995:359)…”

“…Helena, a thirty‐one‐year‐old Greek American middle‐class graduate student, received incorrect and incomplete information about HPV and “almost felt like [the practitioner] was going to treat the warts, and then everything was going to be fine… because nothing else was really explained.” Several practitioners left their patients with similar false senses of well‐being; they told the women that their HPV infections were not serious because the virus could not be transmitted to male partners 7 . Previous health research has found that many HPV patients “were initially informed that they had a ‘virus’ or ‘condyloma.’ The sexual route of transmission and the implications of the disease were not even mentioned” (Keller, Egan, and Mims 1995:358). My data confirm this finding and reveal that in such cases this lack of information reduced the women's initial perceptions of diagnostic stigma.…”

“…In the case of HPV, most studies of infected individuals have focused on cognitive evaluations of risk and consequential risk‐taking behaviors (e.g., Ford and Moscicki 1995). One clinical study (Keller, Egan, and Mims 1995) advises practitioners to be aware of the “psychosocial” aspects of HPV when delivering diagnoses but neglects to analyze HPV diagnostic encounters as psychosocial challenges for the patients.…”

The Lived Experience of Genital Warts: The Swedish Example

“…The emotional impact of genital warts is often longstanding and profound (Persson, Dahlöf, & Krantz, 1993). It is important for health care professionalss to understand the emotional aspects of contracting genital warts when meeting the patient (Maw, Reitano, & Roy, 1998); several authors demonstrate that women feel guilt and shame about their bodies (Filiberti et al, 1993;Keller et al, 1995;Lehr & Lee, 1990). According to Reitano (1997) 37% of HPV infected individuals believed that their genital wars still had a negative effect on their sexual lives one year after diagnosis.…”

“…The incubation time of HPV is relatively long, from 3 weeks to 8 months (Keller, Egan, & Mims, 1995). Over 38 different types of small DNA viruses are known to infect the genital tract.…”