Gönenç İlknur Münevver, Sezer Neslihan Yılmaz, Alişan Sait
Faculty of Health Nursing, Midwifery Department, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
Zi&On Pysychiatry Mental Health Center, Istanbul, Turkey.
Public Health Nurs. 2025 Mar-Apr;42(2):665-674. doi: 10.1111/phn.13492. Epub 2024 Nov 27.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission routes place all individuals at equal risk; however, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals are disproportionately affected due to barriers in accessing health services and the impact of stigma, making it crucial to understand their health beliefs and knowledge levels.
This descriptive study aimed to assess the knowledge levels and health beliefs of LGBTQ individuals regarding HPV and its vaccine. The study, conducted between November 2020 and March 2021, was reported according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guideline. Three hundred and twenty-three individuals who agreed to participate in the study during this date range were included in the study using the snowball sampling method. Personal information form, HPV Infection Knowledge Scale, and Health Belief Model Scale were used as data collection tools.
The mean scores of participants on the HPV Knowledge Scale were 3.42 ± 2.24. Of the participants, 39.6% reported no prior knowledge of the HPV vaccine, and among those who had heard of the vaccine, 88.2% had not received it. The mean scores of participants who had received the vaccine were higher on perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived susceptibility sub-dimensions than those who had not, while the mean scores on perceived barriers were lower (p < 0.05).
The study finds that LGBTQ individuals have insufficient knowledge about HPV and are less likely to have received the HPV vaccine. However, low perceived barriers and high perceptions of the benefits, severity, and susceptibility of HPV vaccination can enhance preventive behaviors. Nurses should offer counseling and information to improve LGBTQ individuals' perceptions of the HPV vaccine, thereby increasing preventive actions against HPV infection.
人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）的传播途径使所有人面临的风险均等；然而，女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、跨性别者和酷儿（LGBTQ）群体因获得医疗服务存在障碍以及受到污名化影响，受影响的比例过高，因此了解他们的健康观念和知识水平至关重要。
这项描述性研究旨在评估LGBTQ群体对HPV及其疫苗的知识水平和健康观念。该研究于2020年11月至2021年3月期间进行，按照加强流行病学观察性研究报告规范进行报告。采用雪球抽样法，纳入了在此时间段内同意参与研究的323名个体。使用个人信息表、HPV感染知识量表和健康信念模型量表作为数据收集工具。
参与者在HPV知识量表上的平均得分为3.42±2.24。在参与者中，39.6%报告此前对HPV疫苗一无所知，在听说过该疫苗的人中，88.2%未接种过。接种过疫苗的参与者在感知严重性、感知益处和感知易感性子维度上的平均得分高于未接种者，而在感知障碍方面的平均得分较低（p<0.05）。
该研究发现，LGBTQ群体对HPV的了解不足，接种HPV疫苗的可能性较低。然而，对HPV疫苗接种的感知障碍较低以及对其益处、严重性和易感性的高认知可以增强预防行为。护士应提供咨询和信息，以改善LGBTQ群体对HPV疫苗的认知，从而增加针对HPV感染的预防行动。
