Abstract
Objective: To evaluate awareness of HPV and its vaccine among Latvian adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a 2-week period in September 2015 among 270 adolescents attending a secondary school in Riga, Latvia. All students present during sexual-health classes (grades 10–12 [aged 16–21 years]) were included. A self-administered paper-based survey assessed sociodemographic factors, sexual behaviours, smear history and knowledge of sexually transmitted infections, HPV and HPV vaccine knowledge, and sources of information. Results: Overall, 121 surveys were completed (62 by male students and 59 by female students). Latvian adolescents lacked awareness of HPV: only 26 (21.5%) had heard of HPV (21 [35.6%] female students vs 5 [8.1%] male students; P<0.001) and 12 (9.9%) of the HPV vaccine. Eighty (66.1%) participants felt inadequately informed about HPV. However, the adolescents partook in high-risk behaviours: 70 (57.9%) students were sexually active, 26 (37.1%) of whom had already had three or more sexual partners. Conclusion: Despite the high prevalence of HPV in Latvia, poor knowledge about HPV infection among adolescents could explain low uptake of the HPV vaccine by this high-risk population. Therefore, educational strategies that highlight the consequences of HPV could promote acceptance of vaccination.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 138-144 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics |
Volume | 137 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2017 |
Keywords*
- Adolescents
- Education
- HPV
- HPV vaccine uptake
- Knowledge
- Vaccination
- Vaccine acceptance
Field of Science*
- 3.2 Clinical medicine
- 3.3 Health sciences
Publication Type*
- 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database