Investigation of the Knowledge and Attitudes of Health Care Personnel About HPV Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: We believe that the knowledge of health personnel about human papillomavirus vaccine and to believe in the benefit of vaccination in terms of educating society. In addition, if this issue is raised in schools and universities and among health care personnel through surveys or other research methods, we foresee increased awareness of this issue. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the level of knowledge and belief of health personnel about HPV vaccination. Material and Methods: A 23-question survey was conducted for the personnel of our hospital in order to investigate the level of knowledge and belief of health care professionals about HPV vaccination. The questionnaire mainly consisted of questions of utility, seriousness, sensitivity, and barrier perception. At the end of the study, the occupational and educational status of the participants and their knowledge and belief levels about HPV vaccination were compared. Results: 70.8% of the total 209 healthcare workers were female and 29.2% were male, with a mean age of 35.99 (±9.32). 53.1% of the participants were physicians, 18.7% nurses and 28.2% assistant health personnel. 95.7% of the participants had heard of the HPV vaccine. Vaccination rate was 7.7%, partners vaccinated 2.4%, and children vaccinated 2.9%. Conclusion: We observed that the health personnel of our hospital had a high awareness of the HPV vaccine, but their confidence in the vaccine was low. We think that it is important for health care personnel to be knowledgeable and to believe in the benefits of vaccination for educating the society.