CERVICAL CANCER AND HPV VACCINATION: FROM THE FEMALE HEALTH CARE WORKERS’ PERCEPTION

Abstract Aim: Cervical cancer may be prevented by adequate and satisfactory preventive health services. Vaccination is one of the most useful primary care prevention applications. As the health care workers lead an important role in preventing cancers, it is crucial to focus on their knowledge and attitude and perception. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge levels on cervical cancer and HPV vaccination, perception and the attitude of female health care workers in our university hospital, thus contributing to vaccination and primary prevention researches and applications. Materials and Method: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was performed during 01st July-31st December, 2020. A questionnaire (prepared with the current literature knowledge) was applied to volunteer female health workers (doctors, nurses, other health personnel) who were working at Adnan Menderes University Hospital. Data were evaluated with the SPSS 22.0 package program. p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the participants was 31.1±6.8 years with a mean duration of work as 5.9±5.7 years The median knowledge score of the participants was 15 out of 22, 11, and 8 among doctors, nurses, and other health care personnel, respectively (p<0.001). All of the doctors, 31% of the nurses, and 44% of the other health personnel stated that they had recommended HPV vaccination to their social environment. Although ten participants (5 doctors and 5 nurses) had been vaccinated for HPV, all of the participants’ relatives were unvaccinated. Among participants, 65.9% of the doctors, 36.2% of the nurses and 23.5% of the allied health personnel stated that they were planning to recommend vaccination to their relatives. Conclusion: Despite the high levels of recommending HPV vaccine to their social environment, low rates of vaccinated participants and their relatives were determined in this study. The knowledge levels about cervical cancer and prevention methods of healthcare professionals should be increased with educational programs to affect their attitudes towards HPV vaccination. With increased knowledge, healthcare workers will be able to guide the society correctly and adequately, and vaccination rates can be increased among the community. Keywords: HPV, vaccination, cervical cancer, healthcare. Journal of Psychology and Personality Disorders Citation: DEMIRAG S, (2022) Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccination: From the Female Health Care Workers’ Perception. J Psycho Person Dis. (JPPD) 2 INTRODUCTION Although cervical cancer is