Knowledge, attitudes and awareness of the human papillomavirus among health professionals in New Zealand

Abstract

BackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection that is implicated in 99.7% of cervical cancers and several other cancers that affect both men and women. Despite the role that HPV plays in an estimated 5% of all cancers and the evolving role of HPV vaccination and testing in protecting the public against these cancers, preliminary research in New Zealand health care professionals suggest knowledge about HPV may not be sufficient.MethodsA total of 230 practice nurses, smear takers and other clinical and laboratory staff who attended a range of training events completed a cross-sectional survey between April 2016 and July 2017. The survey explored four broad areas: demographics and level of experience, HPV knowledge (general HPV knowledge, HPV triage and test of cure (TOC) knowledge and HPV vaccine knowledge), attitudes towards the HPV vaccine and self-perceived adequacy of HPV knowledge.ResultsThe mean score on the general HPV knowledge questions was 13.2 out of 15, with only 25.2% of respondents scoring 100%. In response to an additional question, 14.0% thought (or were unsure) that HPV causes HIV/AIDS. The mean score on the HPV Triage and TOC knowledge questions was 7.4 out of 10, with only 9.1% scoring 100%. The mean score on the HPV vaccine knowledge questions was 6.0 out of 7 and 44.3% scored 100%. Only 62.6% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they were adequately informed about HPV, although 71.8% agreed or strongly agreed that they could confidently answer HPV-related questions asked by patients. Multivariate analyses revealed that knowledge in each domain predicted confidence in responding to patient questions. Furthermore, the number of years since training predicted both HPV knowledge and Triage and TOC knowledge.DiscussionAlthough overall level of knowledge was adequate, there were significant gaps in knowledge, particularly about the role of HPV testing in the New Zealand National Cervical Screening Programme. More education is required to ensure that misinformation and stigma do not inadvertently result from interactions between health practitioners and the public.

Knowledge towards human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and attitude towards its vaccine in the Kingdom of Bahrain: cross-sectional study

“…A similar study showed adequate awareness about the virus among healthcare workers in New Zealand. However, significant gaps in knowledge were still noted 29…”

Influence of Gender and Undergraduate Course on the Knowledge about HPV and HPV Vaccine, and Vaccination Rate among Students of a Public University

“…17 In addition to not being easily accessible, concerns about the association with sexually transmitted infections (STIs), promiscuity, adverse effects, low recommendation of the vaccine by professionals, costs and lack of knowledge have led to the low rate of HPV vaccination in the target population. 13,16 Increased awareness had a positive effect on the intention to take the vaccine, and women were more likely to have a positive attitude toward vaccination. 9,15 Likewise, for Monteiro et al, 10 more women were interested in taking the vaccine and, in general, higher-education students were more interested in the vaccination.…”

“…3 In our study, 76% of the participants were aware of the causal nature of HPV in cervical carcinogenesis. This question has been examined by several authors 5,9,[14][15][16] among students from a variety of courses, with the rate of correct answers ranging from 48 to 98%. Regarding the knowledge that HPV is related to other cancers, the proportion of correct answers did not exceed 40% for any type of cancer.…”

Awareness Regarding Human Papilloma Virus Among Health Professionals and Will to Accept Vaccination: A Systematic Review

“…Nevertheless, various factors may influence the level of knowledge of health professionals. In half of the studies included in the systematic review, it appears that the level of awareness of a high risk of oncogenic HPV types was observed to be significantly differentiated between health professionals of different specialties [18][19][20][21][22]. More specifically, general practitioners, gynecologists, pediatricians, and workers in obstetric nursing units (midwives, nurses) showed a higher awareness of high-risk HPV genotypes than the rest of the paramedical staff, whose relative rates of knowledge and awareness were too low.…”