Evaluation of women's knowledge of human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and HPV Vaccine

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the knowledge level of women aged 18 to 45 years who applied to our clinic about HPV infection and vaccination. For this purpose, 204 women aged 18 to 45 years who applied to our clinic between 2009 and 2018 were asked to answer questions about HPV and its vaccine. A questionnaire was prepared to determine the knowledge level of the women. The answers were evaluated using the SPSS program. In the study, the mean age of the 204 participants was 27.8 years. 26 women (12.8%) reported that they had no knowledge, 60 had little knowledge (29.4%), and 98 (48.0%) had high knowledge of HPV. 20 (9.8%) also reported that they had had the HPV vaccine. In the evaluation of questions about the vaccination, 130 women (63.72%) stated that they did not have sufficient knowledge about the vaccine and did not want to get vaccinated. 30 women (14.72%) said that they had read about the risks associated with the HPV vaccine and believed that it was harmful. 24 women (11.76%) stated that they could not get vaccinated because of the cost.