AbstractsWomens Studies

Knowledge of Human papillomavirus (HPV) and attitudes towards HPV-vaccine among Thai female university students

by Sandra Stridh




Institution: Uppsala University
Department:
Year: 2014
Keywords: human papillomavirus; knowledge; attitude; HPV-vaccine; young Thai women; Medical and Health Sciences; Health Sciences; Nursing; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Hälsovetenskaper; Omvårdnad; Sjuksköterskeprogrammet; Registered Nurse Programme; Caring Sciences; Vårdvetenskap
Record ID: 1352271
Full text PDF: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-214748


Abstract

<strong>Introduction:</strong> Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection and causes 529.000 cases of cervical cancer every year. Nowadays, there are vaccines available to prevent infection. Knowledge of HPV influence the attitude towards the vaccine and is therefore a factor of accepting the vaccine. <strong>Aim:</strong> The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge of HPV and attitudes towards HPV-vaccine among Thai female university students. <strong>Method:</strong>  Descriptive and cross-sectional study with quantitative method using a questionnaire. Purposive sampling was used. The sample consisted of students from two different universities in Bangkok, Thailand and out of the 201 students whom filled in the questionnaire, 192 questionnaires were used. <strong>Result:</strong> There were 64.6% of the participants that had heard of HPV previously. Of these, the most common source of information was health professionals. The HPV-vaccine was known by 42.6% of the participants and 17.4% had taken the vaccination. Over 90% of the participants had a poor or moderate knowledge of HPV. In total, most of the participants in the sample were found to have a positive level of attitude towards the vaccine (72.4%). Almost all participants wanted to know more about HPV and the HPV-vaccine and 88.5% thought it was necessary for them to get the vaccination. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> As some gaps in knowledge among the participants were shown, the information to young women should be improved and aim to increase the motivation towards the use of preventive methods, such as taking the HPV-vaccine.