Awareness and knowledge about human papillomavirus among high school students in China

To investigate awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among high school students and to provide a basis for health education on HPV infection for high school students in China.

A questionnaire on HPV awareness and knowledge was administered to 900 high school students in Xiangtan City of Hunan Province in China by layer cluster sampling. A total of 848 anonymous valid questionnaires were received from volunteers who completed the questionnaire correctly.

Only 10.1% had heard of HPV, and of those only 18.6% knew that HPV could lead to cervical cancer. Single factor analysis indicated that home address, age, grade, academic achievement, sex history, gender, father's education level and mother's education level were impact factors for HPV knowledge of high school students. Multiple regression analysis showed 4 independent risk factors associated with HPV knowledge: academic achievement, sex history, gender, and mother's education level. The limited knowledge came primarily from television and radio broadcasts (59.3%), the Internet (57.0%), parents (25.6%), medical workers (20.9%), and teachers (18.6%).

High school students lack HPV knowledge, which is affected by multiple factors. Targeted health education of all sorts must be provided. Both schools and families are responsible for reinforcing HPV education provided to high school students.