Knowledge of human papillomavirus and cervical cancer among young women recruited using a social networking site
Author
Gunasekaran, B; Jayasinghe, Y; Fenner, Y; Moore, EE; Wark, JD; Fletcher, A; Tabrizi, SN; Garland, SMDate
2013-06-01Source Title
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONSPublisher
BMJ PUBLISHING GROUPUniversity of Melbourne Author/s
Wark, John; Wark, Suzanne; Tabrizi, Sepehr; Jayasinghe, Yasmin; GUNASEKARAN, BHARATHYAffiliation
Obstetrics And Gynaecology Royal Women'S Hospital/MercyMetadata
Show full item recordDocument Type
Journal ArticleCitations
Gunasekaran, B., Jayasinghe, Y., Fenner, Y., Moore, E. E., Wark, J. D., Fletcher, A., Tabrizi, S. N. & Garland, S. M. (2013). Knowledge of human papillomavirus and cervical cancer among young women recruited using a social networking site. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS, 89 (4), pp.327-329. https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2012-050612.Access Status
This item is currently not available from this repositoryDescription
C1 - Journal Articles Refereed
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the commonest sexually transmitted infection. Despite the significant morbidity and mortality associated with HPV-related diseases, previous studies have demonstrated low HPV knowledge in the general population. The objectives of this study were to assess knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV among young women and investigate predictors of high knowledge. METHODS: Female subjects, aged 16-25 years living in Victoria, Australia, were recruited using targeted advertising on Facebook from May to September 2010. A web-based questionnaire was used in a cross-sectional pilot study for a large longitudinal study on women's health, The Young Female Health Initiative. RESULTS: A total of 278 women completed the questionnaire. The geographic region, indigenous status and socio-economic status of participants were representative of the target population. Overall, 63% knew what HPV was, but only 48% knew it was a common virus. Predictors of high HPV knowledge on multivariate analyses were older age (adjusted OR (aOR) 2.78, 95% CI 0.77 to 10.04), higher socio-economic status (aOR 1.39, 95% CI 0.66 to 2.95), being Australian-born (aOR 3.10, 95% CI 1.15 to 8.36), older age at first vaginal intercourse (aOR 1.84, 95% CI 0.66 to 5.14), awareness of HPV vaccines (aOR 2.16, 95% CI 0.68 to 6.85) and chlamydia (aOR 2.57, 95% CI 1.11 to 5.94), and self-reported HPV vaccination status (aOR 1.83, 95% CI 0.76 to 4.41). CONCLUSIONS: HPV and cervical cancer knowledge among participants were relatively high compared with other studies conducted both worldwide and in Australia. However, deficits in knowledge exist and warrant address in educational initiatives.
Keywords
Cancer Diagnosis; Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Cancer and Related Disorders; Infectious Diseases; Women's HealthExport Reference in RIS Format
Endnote
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".
Refworks
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References