Knowledge levels and health beliefs of university students on human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccines

Aim: This study evaluates female university students' knowledge levels and health beliefs regarding HPV infection and vaccines. Methods: The research was descriptive, cross-sectional, and non-probability sampling method was used. The sample of the research consisted of 329 female students studying at a university. The necessary ethics committee approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences of a university. The research was conducted between September 2023 and November 2024. This university consists of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Faculty of Letters, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture and Faculty of Sports Sciences. Each individual participating in the study was informed before the study and verbal consent was obtained. Three forms were used as data collection tools: Introductory Information Form, "Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection Knowledge Scale" and "Health Belief Model Scale on Human Papillomavirus Infection and Vaccination". Data analysis was done with the SPSS for Windows 22 package program. Results: 51.4% of the participants had heard of HPV infection and 59.9% of the HPV vaccine before. 76.9% of the participants do not want to get the HPV vaccine and 59.7% do not want to get the HPV vaccine because they do not have knowledge. The average age of the participants is 20.83±2.68 and the average number of visits to a health institution in the last year is 6.30±8.06. Participants received a total score of 2.71±2.23 on the (HPV) Infection Knowledge Scale. Scores from the scale vary between 0-8. Conclusion: Considering these findings, the knowledge level of the female students participating in the study regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine was found to be poor. It has been determined that their sensitivity in this regard is low. For this reason, education programs regarding cervical cancer, pap smear test, HPV vaccine and HPV should be planned and implemented for students. Keywords: Cervical Cancer, HPV, Nursing, University Students