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Abstract
Aim: In this study we aimed to determine the knowledge level of family physicians about Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection and HPV vaccines.
Methods: A total of 208 resident physicians working in the Department of Family Medicine were included in the study. Each participant was asked to fill out an HPV awareness questionnaire, which consisted of 22 questions. In cases where family physicians did not recommend HPV vaccines, the reasons were noted.
Results: The median age was 29 years. A total of 207 of the participants (67.4%) stated that they advised HPV vaccines. Among the family medicine resident physicians, “don’t know” as a response to questions about general information regarding HPV was between 0.3-5.8 percent. The most common reasons not to recommend the vaccine were lack of knowledge (17.4%), the vaccine not being in the schedule of the Health Ministry (16.1%) and the high cost (15.8%).
Conclusions: The findings obtained in our study show that the level of knowledge of resident physicians on HPV infections, cervical cancer and HPV vaccines and their support rate for HPV vaccines were inadequate. For better protection from HPV, family physicians should be better informed about the disease.