Study of knowledge, awareness and perceptions on Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination among the hospital staffs in Hospital Taiping, Perak, Malaysia

Cervical cancer is a major health problem and it is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women as reported. The primary underlying cause of cervical cancer is Humanpapilloma virus (HPV) which is the most common sexually transmitted infection. A little is known about the knowledge, awareness and perceptions of HPV infection, cervical cancer and HPV vaccine in Malaysian men and women. Therefore, this study is aimed to assess the knowledge, awareness and perceptions among the staffs in Hospital Taiping. A cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaire and distributed by drop-off survey method is been used. A total of 327 respondents aged 20-60 years old. Data was analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 using standard descriptive statistic and P values < 0.05 were considered significant. The total score of knowledge on HPV infection and vaccine was high among the clinical staffs in Hospital Taiping. Two hundred fifty six (78.3%) clinical staffs scored high mark while sixty three (19.3%) clinical staffs scored intermediate mark. This study found that majority of two hundred seventy (82.6%) clinical staffs had not received HPV vaccination and only fifty seven (17.4%) clinical staffs had received one or two doses of HPV vaccination. The level of knowledge among hospital staffs in Taiping was high and it was a good indicator that they can provide public with appropriate and correct knowledge regarding HPV infection and vaccine.