Letafati Arash, Marvi Shima Sadeghipoor, Nikzad Abuzar, Soltani Mahdiyeh, Zafarian Negar, Baghaei Zeynab, Hosseini Tahmine Mohammad, Sarrafzadeh Sheida, Pirkooh Angila Ataei, Jazayeri Seyed Mohammad
Research Center for Clinical Virology, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Virology, Faculty of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Community Health. 2025 Jun 22. doi: 10.1007/s10900-025-01486-2.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is among the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with almost all sexually active individuals likely to encounter it during their lifetime. It is essential for health science students to have a comprehensive understanding of HPV, as their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors can greatly impact patient education and decisions about vaccination or their current infection. This study aims to assess the level of awareness and knowledge about HPV among health science students and recognize the factors that influence these levels. We distributed paper questionnaires to 268 students (18-42 years) across different fields of study. Validity and reliability were assessed with 40 participants. After removing unreliable questions, a 36-item questionnaire was finalized. Awareness scores were calculated from responses, and statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS-27. This study examined 268 students aged 18 to 42 years, with an average age of 24.4 years (± 4.02). The median age was 24 years. Among the participants, 70.5% were female (189 subjects) and 29.5% were male (79 subjects). Students with PhD degrees in biological sciences had the highest awareness scores, averaging 16 (± 10.34). MSc students in biological sciences followed with awareness scores averaging 15.9 (± 5.83). BSc students in biological sciences had the lowest awareness scores, averaging 11.9 (± 6.43). Statistical analysis indicated that basic characteristics like sex, marital status, or having a partner did not significantly impact awareness levels among the subjects. However, the level of education was identified as a significant factor affecting awareness (p-value = 0.043). The majority of the study participants demonstrated a moderate level of knowledge about HPV. In this study awareness levels vary significantly across educational levels. However, the demographic factors such as gender, marital status, and relationship status did not notably influence the participants' levels of awareness. These findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions to address this knowledge gap and improve HPV awareness, especially among BSc students in biological sciences.
人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）是最常见的性传播感染（STIs）之一，几乎所有性活跃的个体在其一生中都可能接触到它。对于健康科学专业的学生来说，全面了解HPV至关重要，因为他们的知识、态度和行为会对患者教育以及疫苗接种或当前感染的决策产生重大影响。本研究旨在评估健康科学专业学生对HPV的认知水平，并识别影响这些水平的因素。我们向268名不同研究领域的学生（18 - 42岁）发放了纸质问卷。对40名参与者进行了效度和信度评估。去除不可靠问题后，最终确定了一份包含36个条目的问卷。根据回答计算认知得分，并使用IBM SPSS - 27进行统计分析。本研究调查了268名年龄在18至42岁之间的学生，平均年龄为24.4岁（±4.02）。年龄中位数为24岁。在参与者中，70.5%为女性（189名受试者），29.5%为男性（79名受试者）。生物科学博士学位的学生认知得分最高，平均为16分（±10.34）。生物科学硕士学位的学生其次，认知得分平均为15.9分（±5.83）。生物科学学士学位的学生认知得分最低，平均为11.9分（±6.43）。统计分析表明，性别、婚姻状况或是否有伴侣等基本特征对受试者的认知水平没有显著影响。然而，教育水平被确定为影响认知的一个重要因素（p值 = 0.043）。大多数研究参与者对HPV的了解处于中等水平。在本研究中，不同教育水平的认知水平差异显著。然而，性别、婚姻状况和恋爱状况等人口统计学因素对参与者的认知水平没有显著影响。这些发现强调了有针对性的教育干预措施的必要性，以弥补这一知识差距并提高对HPV的认知，特别是在生物科学专业的本科学生中。
