Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Public Health From Theory to Practice, cilt.33, sa.3, ss.723-730, 2025 (ESCI)
Abstract
Aim The study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge levels of sexually active individuals about Human Papilloma Virus
(HPV), HPV screening test, and HPV vaccine and raise awareness.
Subject and methods A cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. The data were completed with 150 sexually active
participants between the ages of 18–49. The “Personal Information Form” and “HPV Knowledge Scale” were used to collect data. The data were collected on the online platform via Google Surveys using snowball sampling between September
19 and October 19, 2022.
Results The average sexual age of the participants was 21.16±2.2 years for women and 21.16±2.2 years for men. The
education levels of the participants were 47 (62.66%) of the women and 56 (74.66%) of the men, respectively, university
graduates, and 58 (77.33%) of the women and 66 (88.00%) of the men stated that they were public employees. It was found
that the average HPV Knowledge Scale (HPV-KS) score of the participants was 16.09±6.11 in women and 12.26±6.34
in men, respectively, and the level of HPV knowledge in women was signifcantly higher than in men (p=0.017). Women
were determined to be more knowledgeable about HPV vaccine administrations than men, which was statistically signifcant
(p=0.003). However, men were revealed to be administered more HPV vaccines than women, and the result was statistically
signifcant (p=0.042). The analysis revealed a statistically signifcant diference between knowledge scores between those
who had received the vaccine and those who had not and HPV awareness (p=0.000).
Conclusion The results indicated that individuals who had their frst sexual experience at an earlier age and possessed a
higher level of education were more likely to be receptive to the HPV vaccine.
Keywords Human papilloma virus · Sexuality · Knowledge · Vaccination · Education