Instructing nurses about human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancers and the importance of HPV vaccination

Abstract

This study sought to assess nurses’ and midwives’ knowledge of, attitudes towards, and acceptance of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in relation to their background characteristics. Though the knowledge was there but several gaps were noticed regarding HPV vaccination, the major concerns being safety, efficacy and availability of the vaccine. Conclusions: HPV is a vaccine preventable cancer and for accepting the vaccination the health professionals can play a pivotal role in raising awareness and controlling the disease. Those who knew risk factors of HPV infection and that this could be prevented by the HPV vaccine, and those who knew that cervical cancer could be prevented by the HPV vaccine expressed this positive attitude about willingness to recommend the HPV vaccine. These results highlight the need to supplement nursing students’ specific education, to improve their knowledge and awareness of HPV vaccination. To encourage higher HPV vaccine uptake, the general population requires accurate information about the utility of the vaccine in HPV infection prevention. Indeed, the achievement of vaccinations is related to the awareness of health professionals on this topic. Therefore, health care workers play an important role in health promotion via the provision of correct, complete and comprehensible information. Furthermore, in addition to physicians, other health care workers such as midwives and nurses must be adequately trained in order to offer, depending on their role, appropriate information consistent with maximizing adherence to vaccination and, they are an important population to study their level of knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding HPV infection and related vaccination.