Awareness of human papillomavirus among women attending a well woman clinic.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the level and accuracy of public understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the United Kingdom.


METHODS
Women attending a well woman clinic were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing HPV awareness and specific knowledge about the virus.


RESULTS
Questionnaires were completed by 1032 women, of whom 30% had heard of HPV. Older women, non-smokers, and those with a history of candida, genital warts, or an abnormal smear result were more likely to have heard of HPV. Even among those who had heard of HPV, knowledge was generally poor, and fewer than half were aware of the link with cervical cancer. There was also confusion about whether condoms or oral contraceptives could protect against HPV infection.


CONCLUSIONS
In this relatively well educated sample, awareness and knowledge of HPV were poor. Public education is urgently needed so that women participating in cervical cancer screening are fully informed about the meaning of their results, especially if HPV testing is soon to be introduced.
Waller
J
J
Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, 2-16 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. j.waller@public-health.ucl.ac.uk
McCaffery
K
K
Forrest
S
S
Szarewski
A
A
Cadman
L
L
Wardle
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D027383:Papillomaviridae; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D016387:Women's Health