Women's knowledge about human papillomavirus and their acceptance of HPV vaccine.
OBJECTIVE
Recently, prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were approved in the USA and Europe to protect against HPV-related disease. However, there is ongoing debate about the acceptance of the HPV vaccine as a part of routine vaccine scheme. The aim of this study is to determine the baseline knowledge Turkish women have about HPV and prophylactic HPV vaccines.


METHODS
The study included 1434 women from four different cities of Turkey who completed a 22-item questionnaire that assessed their knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer, and their acceptance of HPV vaccine for themselves and their children.


RESULTS
The median age was 35.8 +/- 10.8 years (range: 17-80 years). In all, 12% of the participants had a past history of an abnormal Pap test. Among the participants, 77% believed that sex education should be provided at school, 45% had heard of HPV and 55% had no knowledge about HPV. It was known by 43% of the women that HPV might cause genital lesions. Of the parents, 40% knew HPV is related to cervical cancer, while 34% had no opinion about the subject. Of the parents interviewed, 70% reported they would accept HPV vaccination for themselves, 64% for their daughters and 59% for their sons.


CONCLUSIONS
Although less than half of the women had knowledge about HPV, the majority of the women sampled reported that they would accept vaccination for themselves and their children. Health-care providers must focus not only on the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer, but must also provide information and education about HPV to women.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey. pdursun@yahoo.com
Polat
P
Dursun
Baris
B
Altuntas
Esra
E
Kuscu
Ali
A
Ayhan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009679:Nuclear Family; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D014421:Turkey; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000821:virology; D055815:Young Adult
D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines