Knowledge of Cervical Cancer and Human Papilloma Virus among Medical Students in Suez, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Healthcare professionals, particularly the younger medical students, can be very helpful in advising patients on how to prevent or treat human papilloma virus (HPV)-related cervical cancer (CC). However, it is frequently noted that medical students, who provide first-line support for managing patients, have a poor awareness of CC and HPV. Objective: To evaluate medical students' awareness and knowledge on cervical cancer by testing their understanding of clinical diagnosis and screening, risk factors, human papilloma virus, and other related topics in Suez, Egypt. The purpose of the study is to shed light on how this information might improve community awareness of cervical cancer. Subjects and Methods : An organized online survey was used to conduct an observational cross-sectional study on people's knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer. 92 medical students from Suez University participated in the study. Results : Of the total, 81.5% of the students were aware of the connection between the human papilloma virus and its role in cervical cancer; 93.5% knew it is sexually transmitted; 87.0% knew an HPV infection may not cause any symptom; 87.0% had heard of an HPV vaccine; and 41.3% believed that girls as young as 15 years old could receive it. Conclusion : An acceptable degree of awareness and understanding regarding HPV, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccine was found in our study. We discovered that increasing knowledge of the etiology of cervical neoplasia, the availability of the HPV vaccine, and its preventive efficacy is positively impacted by medical education.