Knowledge of and attitude toward human papillomavirus infection and vaccines among female nurses at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

BackgroundPersistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a prerequisite for the development of cervical cancer. Highly immunogenic HPV vaccines have been developed and licensed for the primary prevention of cervical cancer in some developed and developing countries. This calls for assessment of the knowledge of the HPV infection and the acceptability of the HPV vaccines among health care providers.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess awareness and knowledge of HPV infection and vaccines and to assess attitude toward these vaccines among female nurses at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria.Study designThe study was a cross-sectional, descriptive study using a pretested, structured, anonymous, self-administered, 19-item questionnaire.ResultsA total of 178 female nurses were interviewed during a 4-week period. The mean age of respondents was 37.1 ± 3.1 years. Almost all (99.4%) of the respondents had heard of cervical cancer, while about 85% of them had heard of HPV infection. Only a quarter (25.3%) of respondents had heard of the HPV vaccines, and of those only 26.7% knew the vaccines were for the prevention of cervical cancer. Most (70.2%) of the nurses expressed a desire to be vaccinated and 120 (67.4%) supported the vaccination of preadolescent girls. Those who expressed a willingness to be vaccinated were more likely to recommend HPV vaccination for preadolescent girls.ConclusionOverall, there was a poor knowledge of the HPV vaccines among female nurses at Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Despite this poor knowledge, most of the nurses expressed a strong desire to be vaccinated and their intention to recommend it for preadolescent girls. The main reason given overall for not recommending the vaccines was lack of information. There is an urgent need to bridge this information gap.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Barriers Towards HPV Vaccination among Nurses in Turkey: a Longitudinal Study

“…The self-administered questionnaire, which was consisted of five parts, was designed by the researchers on the basis of published research, expert opinion and guidance (WHO, 2007;Yanikkerem et al, 2010;Makwe and Anorlu, 2011;Phianmongkhol et al, 2011;Kwan et al, 2012;Marlow et al, 2013;Wamai et al, 2013;National Cancer Institute, 2013).…”

“…The higher risk group (mainly 16 and 18, also other type 31,33,35,39,45,51,52,56,58,59,66) which plays the most important role in the etiology of CC responsible for about 70% of all CC (WHO, 2007;National Cancer Institute, 2013) and causes anal, vaginal, vulvar, penile and oropharynx cancers (WHO, 2007;Ozan et al, 2011;Makwe and Anorlu, 2011;Guvenc et al, 2012;National Cancer Institute, 2013).…”

“…The HPV vaccine was introduced as a primary prevention strategy to reduce the incidence of CC (Boyce and Holmes, 2012;Wamai et al, 2013) and two types of HPV vaccine (bivalent for HPV 16 and 18; quadrivalent for HPV 6,11,16 and 18) were approved for use in CC prevention program for reducing the risk of pre-invasive and invasive neoplasia of the cervix (WHO, 2007;Pinar et al, 2010;Makwe and Anorlu, 2011;Uzunlar et al, 2013). It is estimated that the HPV immunization program will reduce deaths from CC by two-thirds if uptake reaches 80%.…”

“…The vaccines have been in use since 2007; however, the cost of vaccines has not covered by health insurance. Especially for in developing countries, health care providers play an important role in immunization programs for providing health education to public and to play a significant role in the success of effective HPV vaccine program (Naki et al, 2010;Makwe and Anorlu, 2011;Mc Sherry et al, 2012;Uzunlar et al, 2013).…”

“…Various international studies have demonstrated that health care professionals had a basic knowledge about CC, HPV and related disease, HPV tests and HPV vaccine; but lack detailed knowledge (Makwe and Anorlu, 2011;Phianmongkhol et al, 2011;Kwan et al, 2012;Ortashi et al, 2012) and also previous studies indicated that women have desired information about HPV and CC, parents and women considering having their daughters vaccinated for HPV vaccine recommendation from health professionals to be important predictor of vaccine receipt (Pinar et al, 2010;Yanikkerem et al, 2010;Wong and Do, 2012).…”