Aksoy Cem, Schneidewind Laila, Butea-Bocu Marius, Reimold Philipp, Schönburg Sandra, Huber Johannes, Alexa Radu, Saar Matthias, Kranz Jennifer
Klinik für Urologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35033, Baldingerstraße, Deutschland.
Urologische Universitätsklinik, Universität Bern, Bern, Schweiz.
Urologie. 2025 Jan;64(1):38-46. doi: 10.1007/s00120-024-02436-x. Epub 2024 Aug 29.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common viruses transmitted through intimate contact, causing many benign and malignant diseases. Vaccination protects against these diseases. Despite the HPV vaccination being recommended by the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO), knowledge and vaccination rates in Germany are very low. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the HPV knowledge among German students.
Between 06/2019 and 01/2024, a nationwide online survey on HPV knowledge among students in Germany was distributed via the respective student councils. The survey included two aspects: 1) basic characteristics of the participants and 2) knowledge questions about HPV (e.g., transmission routes, effectiveness, and side effects of vaccination, knowledge about the HPV subtypes). Data collection was anonymous.
A total of 459 students took part in the study. Of these, 335 (72.98%) were female, 122 (26.57%) were male, and 2 (0.45%) did not specify their gender. The average age of the students was 24.02 years, and most of the participants were in their 6th (23.31%/107) semester. In all, 75.82% (348) of the participants were medical students followed by law students with 19.61% (90) participants. The most represented study location was Aachen, with 270 (58.82%) participants. Only about half (48.80%/223) of the students knew that approximately 8000 new cancer cases in Germany are HPV-associated annually. Regarding the HPV vaccination, more than a third (35.82%/163) of participants did not know that it also protects against genital warts, while 21.93% (100) did not know that boys can also benefit from the HPV vaccination and that it does not only improve HPV protection of girls against cervical cancer.
Despite several years of HPV vaccination recommendation by the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO), knowledge about HPV among college students still remains very low. Further prevention and educational efforts are needed to address HPV knowledge gaps, with the additional goal of improving HPV vaccination rates.
人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）是通过亲密接触传播的最常见病毒之一，可引发多种良性和恶性疾病。接种疫苗可预防这些疾病。尽管疫苗接种常务委员会（STIKO）建议接种HPV疫苗，但德国民众对其的了解程度和接种率都非常低。因此，本研究旨在评估德国学生对HPV的了解情况。
2019年6月至2024年1月期间，通过德国各高校学生会在全国范围内开展了一项关于德国学生HPV知识的在线调查。该调查包括两个方面：1）参与者的基本特征；2）关于HPV的知识问题（例如，传播途径、疫苗接种的有效性和副作用、HPV亚型的知识）。数据收集采用匿名方式。
共有459名学生参与了本研究。其中，335名（72.98%）为女性，122名（26.57%）为男性，2名（0.45%）未说明其性别。学生的平均年龄为24.02岁，大多数参与者处于第六学期（23.31%/107）。总体而言，75.82%（348）的参与者为医学生，其次是法律专业学生，占19.61%（90）。参与人数最多的研究地点是亚琛，有270名（58.82%）参与者。只有约一半（48.80%/223）的学生知道德国每年约有8000例新增癌症病例与HPV相关。关于HPV疫苗接种，超过三分之一（35.82%/163）的参与者不知道它还能预防尖锐湿疣，而21.93%（100）的参与者不知道男孩也能从HPV疫苗接种中获益，且该疫苗不仅能提高女孩预防宫颈癌的HPV保护率。
尽管疫苗接种常务委员会（STIKO）多年来一直建议接种HPV疫苗，但大学生对HPV的了解程度仍然很低。需要进一步开展预防和教育工作，以填补HPV知识空白，额外目标是提高HPV疫苗接种率。
