Knowledge levels and attitudes of university students about human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccine

Aim: It is aimed to determine the knowledge levels and attitudes of university students studying at Akdeniz University about HPV and HPV vaccine and to increase awareness on this issue. Method: Questionnaires in our study, which was designed as a descriptive cross-sectional, were applied over the internet. The evaluation of the obtained data was made using the SPSS 20.0 statistical program in computer environment. The distribution of normality of the variables was examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. One-way analysis of variance was used in the analysis of more than two groups of variables that fit the normal distribution, and Student's t test was used for pairwise group comparisons. In the analysis of more than two groups of variables that do not conform to normal distribution, the Kruskal Wallis test and the Mann Whitney U test were used for pairwise group comparisons, and the Chi-Square Test was used for comparing categorical data. The data obtained by the measurement are shown as arithmetic mean ± standard deviation (SD), and the data obtained by counting are shown as number (%). Cronbach alpha value of HPV Knowledge Scale applied to students was calculated. The level of significance was taken as p<0.05. Results: 1117 students participated in the study, 64,7% of the students are female and 35,3% of them are male. The average age of male and female students is 21,2±2,8; 21,8±3,3, respectively. 48% of the students were in medicine, 14,4% in literature, 13,8% in health sciences, 6,8% in dentistry, 4,4% in engineering, 2,4% in sports sciences 7,6% were found to study in other faculties. Until today, 76% of the students stated that they have heard of HPV, 59,5% have heard the HPV test, 57,5% have heard of the HPV vaccine. Students HPV Knowledge Scale Sub-Scale-1 mean score was 8,7±5,3, Sub-Scale-2 mean 1,9±1,8, Sub-Scale-3 mean 2,4±2,0, Sub-Scale-4 mean score was found to be 1,2±1,7, and the HPV-Knowledge Scale average score was found to be 14,3±9,7. 34,1% of the students stated that they had not heard of the HPV vaccine before, 3,2% of them had the HPV vaccine. When students who did not get the HPV vaccine were asked about their reasons for not getting the vaccine; 31,7% did not know about the existence of the HPV vaccine, 27,2% did not get the HPV vaccine because the HPV vaccine was paid for, 24,8% heard about the HPV vaccine, but did not get the vaccine because they did not have sufficient knowledge. 27,6% of the students stated that they thought of getting HPV vaccine, 20,8% did not think, and 48,4% were undecided. Conclusion: In our study, the knowledge level of university students was evaluated as low-medium. The lack of information about HPV and HPV vaccines among students studying outside the health field draws attention. One of the reasons for the lack of information about HPV vaccine is that it is not in the national vaccination program in our country. It is thought that with the elimination of lack of information, interest and awareness of HPV vaccine will increase. Key Words: HPV, HPV Vaccine, Student, HPV Knowledge Scale, Attitude.