Investigation of nursing students' knowledge levels and attitudes about human papilloma virus and vaccines

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge levels and attitudes of nursing students about Human Papilloma Virus and its vaccines. Materials and Methods: The research was carried out with 527 nursing students studying at Manisa Celal Bayar University Faculty of Health Sciences. The data were collected with the students' descriptive characteristics questionnaire and the Human Papilloma Virus Knowledge Scale. Results: Overall, 57.7% of the students stated that they had heard of Human Papilloma Virus, 45.0% of them had heard of the Human Papilloma Virus test and 52.8% of them had heard of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine. The total mean score of the Human Papilloma Virus knowledge scale was found to be statistically significantly higher among the students who were female, over 20 years old, educated in the fourth grade, had social security, had knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases, received education about Human Papilloma Virus and stated that the subject of Human Papilloma Virus was covered in the lessons (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that the level of knowledge of the students about HPV and vaccines was low.