Evaluation of knowledge levels of individuals applying to zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University family Medicine polyclinic about human papilloma virus infection and human papilloma virus vaccine

Objective: It was aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of individuals who applied to the Family Medicine outpatient clinics of our hospital for any reason about HPV disease and HPV vaccine using the HPV Knowledge Scale and to create knowledge about the validity and reliability of the HPV KS and the behaviors of patients applying to the Family Medicine outpatient clinics of our hospital. Materials and Methods: This study is a quantitative and cross-sectional-descriptive study and was conducted on 200 individuals who applied to Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University Health Practice and Research Center Family Medicine Outpatient Clinics between October 01, 2022 and May 31, 2023. Results: Of the 200 participants, 145 (72.5%) were female and 55 (27.5%) were male. The mean age of our participants between 18-49 years was 29.2±9.0 years. Our participants were evaluated in terms of HPV-KS according to their sociodemographic characteristics, and their educational status, place of residence, employment status, being a healthcare personnel and alcohol use were found to be statistically significant. In the binary regression analysis, it was observed that the only factor affecting the high HPV-KS scores of those who had undergone HPV testing was the status of residing in a city or metropolitan area. The only demographic variable that had an effect on HPV vaccination behavior was the presence of people around the individual who had received HPV vaccination. Conclusions: In this study, it was observed that individuals living in the city had more knowledge about HPV, but the level of knowledge did not affect HPV vaccination behavior. The only variable that had an effect on HPV vaccination behavior was the presence of individuals around the individual who had received HPV vaccination.