Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Προαγωγή και Αγωγή της ΥγείαςLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Supervisors info:
Γιάννης Τούντας, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαργαρίτα Χρυσάνθου Πιτερού, Ε.ΔΙ.Π., Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Αλεξάνδρα Σταυρούλα Νιέρη, Ε.ΔΙ.Π., Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Γνώσεις, στάσεις και πρακτικές επαγγελματιών υγείας ως προς τον εμβολιασμό HPV σε αγόρια και κορίτσια
Translated title:
Κnowledge, attitudes and practices of health professionals regarding HPV vaccination in boys and girls
Summary:
Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection’ rates continue to compose a growing threat to public health as the number of infections is continuously increasing in Europe. The strategy used worldwide to prevent the number of HPV infections includes both screening tests and vaccination against HPV in adolescent boys and girls. Health professionals play an important role in the integrated approach to HPV vaccination as they can influence public opinion leading to the promotion and acceptance of the vaccine.
Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of health professionals regarding HPV vaccination in boys and girls.
Methods: Snowball sampling used to conduct the research and the sample was 91 health professionals, consisted of pediatricians, gynecologists and health visitors. Two questionnaires were used to collect data, which assessed the knowledge, attitudes, practices and sources of information of health professionals regarding HPV vaccination in boys and girls. For statistical analysis of data, SPSS v.29 was used and the level of significance was set at a=0.05.
Results: 33.0% of the participants were gynecologists, 36.3% were pediatricians and 30.8% were health visitors. The average value of work experience was 15.00 years and 45.1% of the participants held a postgraduate degree. Regarding the knowledge of health professionals about HPV vaccination, it was found that the average knowledge score for the HPV vaccination was relatively moderate (7.11) with 25.3% of the participants don’t know against which diseases the HPV vaccine offers protection. Also, the awareness of health professionals about the importance, safety and effectiveness of HPV vaccination, as well as their attitude to strongly recommend it, developing a relationship based on trust and cooperation with the child and his family, was found to be stronger among pediatricians compared to gynecologists and health visitors. Regarding the recommendation of the vaccine by health professionals, 97.8% and 94.5% of the participants always or often recommended HPV vaccination to girls and boys aged 9 – 18 years, respectively. The main reasons why participants “Often or Always” recommended HPV vaccination for boys aged 9–18 years, were that the vaccine can prevent cancers related HPV (81.2%), the safety of the vaccination (75.3%), and its effectiveness (74.1%). However, the main reasons why participants “Often or Always” recommended HPV vaccination for girls aged 9–18 years were that the vaccination can prevent cancers related HPV (95.5%) and the fact that vaccination is actively recommended and provided free of charge to girls aged 9–18 years (80.7%). Furthermore, between the participants who “Often or Always” recommended HPV vaccination to boys aged 9-18 years, 76.7% reported that there were boys who refused it and the main reasons were “insufficient knowledge about HPV infection” (56.1%) and “concerns about the side effects of the vaccine” (56.1%). Regarding the main sources of information about HPV infection and vaccination, they were scientific journals (81.3% and 80.2% respectively), educational courses/meetings (79.1%), colleagues (29.7% and 26.4% respectively), and the media (16.5% and 17.6 respectively). Finally, 51.6% and 47.3% of the participants believe that they need more information about HPV infection and HPV vaccination respectively.
Conclusions: The outlook of health professionals regarding the promotion of HPV vaccination is positive but their knowledge is poor. The need for continuous information and education of health professionals on new data and new vaccination guidelines for both girls and boys is considered essential to promote universal vaccination of adolescents and ensure public health.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
HPV vaccination, Boys, Girls, Health professionals, Pediatricians, Gynecologists, Health visitors, Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices
Number of references:
179
File:
File access is restricted until 2025-11-09.
Foteinou_Foteini_MSc.pdf.pdf
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File access is restricted until 2025-11-09.
