Awareness of human papilloma virus and cervical cancer prevention among Greek female healthcare workers

Factors influencing healthcare professionals' confidence in vaccination in Europe: a literature review

Health-care professionals (HCPs) have a fundamental role in vaccination, their own beliefs and attitudes affecting both their uptake and recommendation of vaccines. This literature review (n = 89) summarises evidence on HCPs’ perceptions of the risks and benefits of vaccination, trust, and perceptions of mandatory vaccination in Europe. HCPs across studies believed that vaccination is important to protect themselves and their patients. However, beliefs that some diseases such as influenza are less risky were reported by some HCPs as a reason for not getting vaccinated. Concerns about both short- and long-term side effects were identified among HCPs in most studies, such as those affecting the immune or neurological system. Mistrust toward health authorities and pharmaceutical industry was reported in some studies. The question of mandatory vaccination revealed mixed opinions, with some favoring self-determination and others viewing vaccination as a duty. This review highlights key factors influencing HCPs’ confidence in vaccination in Europe.

Predicting cervical screening and HPV vaccination attendance of Roma women in Hungary: community nurse contribution is key

BACKGROUND

HPV screening/vaccination has been observed lower for ethic minorities. Understanding factors that predict and can improve attendance is therefore key. Hence, the aim was to identify causes, especially concerning the quality of the patient-provider relationship, that predict past HPV screening and vaccination turnout of Roma women in Hungary.

METHODS

Cross-sectional research design with self-developed, culturally sensitive questionnaire. A final, female Roma sample of 368 participants was randomly selected from census register. Community nurses contacted participants and distributed surveys. Surveys were mailed-in by participants. Bivariate logistic regression was used to predict former participation in HPV screening/vaccination.

RESULTS

Of the total sample, 17.4% of women attended at least one cervical screening and HPV vaccination in the past. Bad screening experience was positively associated with racially unfair behaviors of physicians. The odds of past attendance were 4.5 times greater if 'no negative earlier experience' occurred, 3.3 times likelier if community nurse performed screening/immunization and 1.6 times more probable if respondent felt 'no shame'. Evaluating the screening/vaccination process painful, being only financially motivated and attendance involving a lot of travel decreased the odds of 'no show' by 50%, 40% and 41%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

When considering the ratio of past cervical screening attendance, we conclude that our female Roma sample did not behave differently from the general population. We saw no evidence that racial mistreatment made any contribution to explaining cervical screening participation. Past positive screening experience and the quality of patient-provider relationship increased the odds of participation the most. Cancer of friends, pain, financial motivation and travel distance decreased odds of participation to a lesser extent. In order to improve future screening and immunization, community nurses should play more central and advanced role in the organization and implementation of such services specifically targeting Roma populations.

Awareness of human papilloma virus and cervical cancer prevention among Cypriot female healthcare workers

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer incidence varies around the world with the highest rates in Eastern Africa and the lowest rates in Western Asia. In Cyprus, a small Mediterranean island, cervical cancer incidence was 6.4 per 100,000 in 2013. HPV is an established risk factor for cervical cancer with HPV-16 and HPV-18 being the most common carcinogenic strains. Cervical cancer is preventable through primary (HPV vaccination) and secondary (Pap and HPV tests) prevention. These prevention methods should be promoted, however, in order to design a cancer prevention programme and the awareness and characteristics of populations should be investigated so that prevention programmes can be targeted specifically to them.

METHODS

In this work, we sought to investigate awareness of HPV and cervical cancer prevention among female healthcare workers in Cyprus. To achieve this, we conducted a 60-item survey among 200 healthcare professionals in randomly selected hospitals in two different cities within Cyprus.

RESULTS

Our results revealed that nearly 10% of our participants reported not ever having had a Pap test. 88.5% of the healthcare workers knew about HPV and 86.5% reported that HPV is transmitted through sexual intercourse. 83.5% of the participants were willing to vaccinate themselves for cervical cancer prevention.

CONCLUSION

Even though awareness and vaccination acceptance were relatively high, they are still not optimal for healthcare professionals who play an essential role in health promotion. We suggest the design of educational programmes to target this population and improve their knowledge so that they can promote cervical cancer prevention in their health practice.

Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Attitudes and Practices Towards Anti-HPV Vaccination Among Israeli Pediatricians, Gynecologists, and Internal Medicine Doctors: Development and Validation of an Ad Hoc Questionnaire

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a highly widespread virus which is responsible for one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Two main preventative strategies exist: anti-HPV vaccination and cervical screening. Health-care workers play a key role in promoting public health campaigns; however, vaccine hesitancy is an often under-recognized challenge. To investigate the overall knowledge of HPV and HPV-related issues, as well as the attitudes and practices of health professionals towards recommending the anti-HPV vaccine, an ad hoc knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) questionnaire was developed and validated in a sample of 139 Israeli pediatricians, gynecologists, and internal medicine doctors. The KAP questionnaire was found to be psychometrically valid and sound (with an rKR-20 coefficient of 0.74 for the second part and a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85 for the third part). Furthermore, the present study confirmed the importance of health-care providers in recommending the immunization practice. Parents that had been strongly advised by health-care providers to vaccinate their children accepted immunization for their girls (odds ratio (OR) 1.09 (95% CI 1.04-1.14)) and boys (OR 1.06 (95% CI 1.02-1.10)), had a lower probability of deciding to postpone the immunization appointment (OR 0.81 (95% CI 0.66-0.98)), had fewer doubts and concerns about the vaccine (OR 0.69 (95% CI 0.54-0.89)), and had a lower probability of refusing the vaccination (OR 0.93 (95% CI 0.86-0.99)). Interestingly, the use of new, emerging tools such as ad hoc websites, applications, and other interactive devices reduced vaccine hesitancy (OR 0.90 (95% CI 0.82-0.99)) and concerns about the side-effects of the vaccine (OR 0.92 (95% CI 0.86-0.99)). However, among Israeli health-care workers, knowledge was generally moderate, with updated information lacking in about 30% of surveyed health-care providers and approximately 20% of them not recommending the anti-HPV vaccine among boys. This study has practical implications for policy- and decision-makers in that they should be aware of the overall level of knowledge among health-care workers and should implement ad hoc educational interventions to address gaps in knowledge and help medical providers routinely recommend the anti-HPV vaccine both to male and female children and adolescents.

Cervical Cancer Screening Programs in Europe: The Transition Towards HPV Vaccination and Population-Based HPV Testing

Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequently occurring cancer in women around the world and can affect them during their reproductive years. Since the development of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test, screening has been essential in identifying cervical cancer at a treatable stage. With the identification of the human papillomavirus (HPV) as the causative agent of essentially all cervical cancer cases, HPV molecular screening tests and HPV vaccines for primary prevention against the virus have been developed. Accordingly, comparative studies were designed to assess the performance of cervical cancer screening methods in order to devise the best screening strategy possible. This review critically assesses the current cervical cancer screening methods as well as the implementation of HPV vaccination in Europe. The most recent European Guidelines and recommendations for organized population-based programs with HPV testing as the primary screening method are also presented. Lastly, the current landscape of cervical cancer screening programs is assessed for both European Union member states and some associated countries, in regard to the transition towards population-based screening programs with primary HPV testing.