HPV Vaccination Awareness and Its Relation to Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer: A Single Centre Study

Abstract

Background - The recently developed HPV vaccine is highly effective against the HPV virus. It has met widespread acceptance amongst healthcare and public health professionals. However, there are still social barriers to vaccination that hampers the effects of preventing the disease caused by HPV. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the survey responses regarding the knowledge, awareness, and vaccination status among dental professionals and students in a local population and to emphasize the relationship between HPV and the increasing incidence of oral and oropharyngeal cancers in the current scenario. Methodology - This study was a prospective analysis of a questionnaire collected from the dentist and dental students at The Faculty of Dental Sciences, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Porur, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India; regarding their knowledge, awareness, and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) - vaccination status.Results - 96% of the participants were aware of the HPV and only 4% were unaware of the virus. About 18.7 % of the participants were unaware of the modes of transmission of HPV. Only 66.6 % knew that HPV - 16 and 18 were responsible for Oral and cervical cancers. Conclusion - Understanding the barriers and hesitancy to vaccination is the crucial step to designing strategies that may aid in enhancing the vaccination