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Pergialiotis V, Papageorgiou D, Douligeris A, Mortaki A, Vlachos DE, Thomakos N, Rodolakis A, Haidopoulos D. Awareness, knowledge and attitudes of human papillomavirus infection, screening and vaccination: a survey study in Greece. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2024; 309:2031-2040. [PMID: 38459177 PMCID: PMC11018653 DOI: 10.1007/s00404-024-07398-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE To evaluate the awareness and existing knowledge of a portion of the Greek population about prevention, screening, and HPV vaccination. METHODS A questionnaire designed in Google forms has been distributed through social media between June 2021 and December 2021 in men and women aged > 16 years old. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 20.0 program. Inferential analysis was performed to evaluate differences in responses among men and women. RESULTS We enrolled 2685 participants. Of those, 2285 were women, 386 were men, while 14 respondents chose not to respond to this question. Various age groups were detected with those aged between 26 and 30 years old being the predominant one. Participants with a higher education constituted 36.5% of the population. Most respondents were married (59.8%). In socioeconomic terms 75.5% of participants were employed whereas, monthly income ranged between 1000 and 1500 euros in the predominant group (36.8%). Only 40% of females and 3.9% of males were vaccinated against HPV. Adolescent immunization, acceptability rates reached 92.7% among female and 82.1% among male responders. Although, only a small proportion of the participants were not aware of the existence of HPV, 24.1% of males and 23.4% of females had the impression that condom use may provide absolute immunity to HPV and only 51.6% of males and 60.4% of females were aware about the high prevalence of HPV in the general population. Logistic regression analysis indicated that male participants as well as those aged > 50 years and those choosing to reject vaccination had decreased knowledge of the basic pathophysiology of HPV infection, as well as knowledge related to the existence and use of HPV DNA as a screening tool and the existence and efficacy of HPV vaccination. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that although awareness of the existence of HPV infection is high in Greek general population, the actual perception of the pathophysiology of transmission and importance of HPV testing and vaccination is low. Targeting specific population groups is essential to help increase HPV coverage and screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasilios Pergialiotis
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Papageorgiou
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece
| | - Athanasios Douligeris
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece.
| | - Anastasia Mortaki
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Efthymios Vlachos
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos Thomakos
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece
| | - Alexandros Rodolakis
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Haidopoulos
- 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 80, Athens, Greece
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