Knowledge and attitudes of hpv infection and vaccination of adolescents in Diyarbakir province

Adolescence is the transition period from childhood to adulthood, in which rapid growth, development and maturation occur in physical, sexual, spiritual and social aspects. Adolescents face some health problems during this period and sexual/reproductive health problems are one of them. Reproductive health problems seen in adolescents are generally inadequate information about sexuality at an early age, early marriage, adolescent pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, inability to reach a family planning method and sexuality/reproductive health.The first education on sexuality and reproductive health starts at home by parents and should be followed by continuing education with lectures at schools, health education conferences and also by specialized health workers. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women. It is now known that HPV infection causes cervical cancer. HPV vaccine has been developed to prevent cervical cancer. Itis recommended in adolescents before the onset of sexual intercourse. The access of adolescents to the right information about HPV infection and its vaccination is important in the protection and improvement of their reproductive health since they are considered to be the group for the vaccination. Our study is a cross-sectional study to determine the level and attitudes of adolescents in Diyarbakır province center about HPV infection and vaccination. The schools involved in the study are listed as Bilfen Schools, Nevzat Ayaz Anatolian High School, Şehit Police Mehmet Erçin Elementary School and Yunus Emre Anatolian Imam Hatip High School. The sample size is composed of 1200 adolescents, but the number of adolescents who accepted to participate in the survey and filled out the questionnaire was 613 (51%). The data collection form was prepared based on the available related forms in the literature and theywere analyzed accordingly. The prepared questionnaires were applied to the students under the supervision of the researcher. In this study, descriptive statistical methods (frequency, percentage calculations) and chi-square test were used. Descriptive statistics and analyzes were performed using computer program R version 3.2.3 (2015-12-10), Copyright (C) 2015 The R Foundation for Statistical Computing free software. For p <0.05, the results were considered to be statistically significant. The study was composed of 613 participants, 46.3% girls and 53.7% boys. It was found that 16.5% of girls and 10% of boys had heard of HPV infection while the ratio of hearing about the HPV vaccination was as 14.8%% in girls and 10.3% in boys with no significant difference in the ratios of infection and vaccination in terms of sex. 29.6% of girls and 25.5% of boys reported that HPV vaccination was protective against genital warts and cervical cancer. 63.4% had never heard of it, 13.7% did not know about its side effects and 5,5% stated it is harmful, 4.25% reported that their parents did not approve to have the vaccination, 1.3% found it expensive and 25.1% declared that they have no adequate information about it. Seventy-one percent of the respondents said they wanted to know about the HPV vaccine and 45.4 % would receive the vaccination if it is included in the Ministry of Health vaccination schedule. 33.3% of the students reported that they had heard of cervical cancer and 12.1% had heard of pap smear test before. It was determined that 80.3% of the adolescents shared their health problems with their parents. 55.4% of the adolescents stated that they directed their health related questions to health personnel and 39.5% to their parents. As the education level of parents of adolescents increased, the level of knowledge about HPV infection, HPV vaccination, cervical cancer and pap smear test was increased. If the conditions for adolescents' education on sexuality and reproductive health are met, they will have a safer transition to adulthood in terms of sexuality and reproductive health. In line with the results of the research, it may be advisable to cooperate with the Directorate of National Education and the Directorate of Health. Keywords: HPV, infection, vaccination, adolescent, pap smear, cervical cancer