Conhecimento sobre o HPV entre adolescentes durante a campanha de vacinação

Knowledge about HPV among adolescents during the vaccine campaign

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated knowledge about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) among youngsters at a government
school in Rio de Janeiro who had received the fi rst dose of this vaccine. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study
investigated knowledge about HPV among male and female pupils who should have had contact with HPV vaccination
campaign run by the Brazilian government in 2014. The study was based on a questionnaire designed for 9th grade
elementary school pupils between 10 and more than 20 years old at a government-run educational institution in Rio de
Janeiro where girls had already received the fi rst dose of vaccine. The questions were about what HPV is, how it is transmitted
and what it can cause. Results: 213 questionnaires were validated, with 88% of the respondents between 10 and 14 years
old, with 54% male. Less than 1% (0.4%) of the participants were able to correlate HPV to a virus; 68% were unaware of
how it is transmitted, and only 22% could mention cervical cancer as one of the consequences of contamination. None of
the respondents reported cancers of the penis, larynx, pharynx, lungs and others. Conclusion: Although Brazil has included
the quadrivalent HPV vaccine in its national Immunization Program and conducted an enlightenment campaign for the
population, there is still a widespread lack of knowledge of this topic in society