Conhecimento de estudantes de medicina da universidade federal de Sergipe sobre o papilomavírus humano e suas atitudes em relação à vacina

Abstract

PURPOSE. Identify the level of knowledge of medical students about human papillomavirus (HPV) and their attitudes towards HPV vaccine. METHODS. It was conducted an observational, cross-sectional descriptive study composed of 208 medical students of the Federal University of Sergipe between August and December 2012. The study included female medical students who agreed to participate. Data were collected through a questionnaire developed by the authors. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 17.0 and EpiInfo (version 6.0). P values were calculated using the chi-square (X2). RESULTS. The majority of students referred know HPV (93.8%) and 65.4% obtained information with university professor. One hundred and eighty- four (88.5%) reported that infection with HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. The majority (85.6%) have heard about the HPV vaccine, primarily by university professors (43.8%). Otherwise more than half (87.5%) were not vaccinated, and the main reason was the high cost, but 89.9% of respondents would accept immunize themselves. There was statistical significance between phase of the course of the student and knowledge of HPV (p = 0.003), the association of HPV a sexually transmitted disease (p = 0.045) and use of the vaccine (p = 0.009). There was not correlation between the vaccine and family income (p = 0.201). CONCLUSION. Knowledge about HPV was high among medical students and attitudes toward vaccine was positive, despite the low rate of use of it due to cost.