Abstract
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in the world. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness about HPV, risk perception, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccines. The sample of this descriptive cross-sectional study consisted of 396 undergraduate university students from Turkey. Sociodemographic characteristics, reproductive health, knowledge about HPV, and HPV vaccination were questioned. The percentage of university students with an active sexual life was 10.6%. The knowledge level of families about HPV, and HPV vaccination were not adequate. The awareness of the fact that HPV was a cause of cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men tended to increase with the increase in the educational level of parents. Those who knew about HPV vaccines were predominantly females. The results of this study demonstrated that more active education is needed to decrease HPV infections among undergraduate students. Increasing awareness of HPV makes it easier to develop positive behaviors in fighting against it. In order to increase the contribution of young people to educational activities for the community, information about HPV and HPV vaccines should first be included in training programs at universities. To support the development of effective and high-quality public health interventions, young people should be educated so that obstacles to HPV vaccination in various cultural groups can be eliminated. Our findings suggest that awareness about HPV, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccines should be increased.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in the world
The results demonstrated that more active education is needed to decrease Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections among undergraduate students
The results of 1 million women including the evaluation of 13 HPV genotypes with respect to prevalence, geographic distribution, and abnormal cytology results showed that HPV DNA could be used in primary level settings to have a highquality screening program with good coverage and was very effective compared with conventional Pap smears
Summary
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. The awareness of the fact that HPV was a cause of cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men tended to increase with the increase in the educational level of parents. Those who knew about HPV vaccines were predominantly females. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that more active education is needed to decrease HPV infections among undergraduate students. In order to increase the contribution of young people to educational activities for the community, information about HPV and HPV vaccines should first be included in training programs at universities. HPV 6 and 11 strains account for approximately 90% of genital warts [3,4]
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