Knowledge and Attitudes of Students aged 18-25 Years about HPV

Introduction: The incidence of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, the main cause of cervical cancer, is particularly high among young women aged 18-25 years. Between 10% and 39.0% of sexually active women, especially those aged 18-24 years, will be infected by the high-risk types of HPV virus at some time, while over 70.0% will come into contact with the virus at some time in their lives. Aim: To explore the knowledge of female students aged 18-25 years about HPV and to assess their attitude towards the methods of primary and secondary prevention. Method: The study was conducted from November 2012 to February 2013 at the Athens Technological Educational Institute (TEI) on a sample consisting of 714 students aged 18-25 years. An anonymous, structured self-completed questionnaire was developed and validated for the purposes of the study. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), v. 17.0. Results: Only 4.5% of the participants reported correctly all the modes of HPV transmission and only 15.9% had knowledge of all of the precautionary measures. Approximately half of the sample (51.1%) knew that the PAP test is a diagnostic tool for HPV infection. Almost the half of the female participants had had a PAP test and of these 17.9% had an abnormal result. Although 48.2% of the participants knew the existence of the vaccine, their vaccination rate for HPV was very low (11.3%). Conclusions and implications for practice: The knowledge about the modes of transmission and protection from HPV was extremely poor. Approximately half of the students had sufficient knowledge about the PAP test and vaccination against HPV infection, but the vaccination rate was very small. Health professionals should provide students with information regarding the primary and secondary preventive measures in order to reduce the risk of cervical cancer from HPV infection.

Category: Volume 54, N 2
Hits: 580 Hits
Created Date: 15-06-2015
Authors: Christina Nanou , Eleytheria Anastasiadou , Kleanthi Gourounti , Victoria Vivilaki , Aikaterini Lykeridou