HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) Knowledge Levels and Opinions of Health Services Vocational School Students

Abstract

Objective: To determine the HPV knowledge levels and opinions of health services vocational school students. This descriptive study was conducted at the Health Services Vocational School of a foundation university between April and July 2022.

Materials and Methods: The population of the study consisted of 1675 students and since HPV is a social sexual health problem, it was aimed to reach the entire population without sample selection. The study was completed with 271 health services vocational school students who filled out the form completely and agreed to participate in the study. Demographic Questionnaire Form and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Knowledge Scale were used as data collection tools in the study. In the data analysis of the study, the obtained data were evaluated with statistical methods such as Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test, and percentages, arithmetic means and medians were used for numerical data.

Results: 64.2% of the participants stated that they had knowledge about HPV. However, only 7.4% of the participants had HPV vaccination. However, the rate of those who did not want to get HPV vaccination was 39.9% and the most common reason in this group was the belief that the vaccine was not reliable (11.7%). It was observed that more than half of the participants recommended HPV vaccination (53.1%) and supported its inclusion in the national vaccination program (64.6%). There were statistically significant differences in the total and sub-dimensions of the HPV Knowledge Scale according to the participants' HPV vaccination status (p<0.05, p <0.01, p<0.001). The median scores of those who had HPV vaccination were higher than those who had not had it both in total and in all sub-dimensions. The knowledge levels of those who had HPV vaccination were higher than those who had not.

Conclusion: It was observed that the knowledge level of the students about HPV and HPV vaccination was not at the desired level. It was concluded that more than half of the participants were women. It was observed that more than half of the participants had heard of HPV but did not have detailed information about the infection. A very small number of participants in the study had received the HPV vaccine, and the number of people who wanted to receive it was less than half. The most notable reason for the participants not wanting to receive the vaccine was that it was not considered reliable.