Waller, J;
McCaffery, K;
Forrest, S;
Szarewski, A;
Cadman, L;
Wardle, J;
(2003)
Awareness of human papillomavirus among women attending a well woman clinic.
SEX TRANSM INFECT
, 79
(4)
320 - 322.
10.1136/sti.79.4.320.
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Abstract
Objectives: To assess the level and accuracy of public understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the United Kingdom.Methods: Women attending a well woman clinic were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing HPV awareness and specific knowledge about the virus.Results: Questionnaires were completed by 1032 women, of whom 30% had heard of HPV. Older women, non-smokers, and those with a history of candida, genital warts, or an abnormal smear result were more likely to have heard of HPV. Even among those who had heard of HPV, knowledge was generally poor, and fewer than half were aware of the link with cervical cancer. There was also confusion about whether condoms or oral contraceptives could protect against HPV infection.Conclusions: In this relatively well educated sample, awareness and knowledge of HPV were poor. Public education is urgently needed so that women participating in cervical cancer screening are fully informed about the meaning of their results, especially if HPV testing is soon to be introduced.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Awareness of human papillomavirus among women attending a well woman clinic |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/sti.79.4.320 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/sti.79.4.320 |
| Additional information: | See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative |
| Keywords: | CERVICAL-CANCER, HPV, KNOWLEDGE, INFECTION |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1470 |
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