Perception and knowledge of HPV-related and vaccine-related conditions among a large cohort of university students in Italy

Figures & data

Table 1. Knowledge and perception of HPV-related and vaccine-related conditions by socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics of the study population.

						Level of perceptions
				Level of knowledge		Shame		Trust		Fear
		n	%	Mean	ANOVA	Mean	ANOVA	Mean	ANOVA	Mean	ANOVA
Gender	F	6019	60.3	5.86	p < .001	3.28	p < .001	4.89	p < .001	3.34	p = .035
	M	3969	39.7	5.67		3.56		4.81		3.40
Age	18–19 y	3816	38.2	5.77	p < .001	3.46	p < .001	4.87	p < .001	3.40	p < .001
	20–21 y	3196	32.0	5.74		3.41		4.83		3.41
	22–23 y	2211	22.1	5.82		3.31		4.84		3.28
	24–25 y	765	7.7	5.96		3.21		4.97		3.25
Degree course attended (grouped by main areas)	1 Health-care professions	2239	23.1	5.84	p < .001	3.36	p < .001	4.89	p < .001	3.29	p < .001
	2 Sciences	1899	19.6	5.71		3.46		4.82		3.41
	3 Humanities	1575	16.2	5.78		3.38		4.80		3.48
	4 Engineering	1472	15.2	5.62		3.60		4.71		3.55
	5 Law and Economics	607	6.3	5.69		3.47		4.83		3.46
	6 Psychology	932	9.6	5.84		3.28		4.81		3.45
	7 Medicine and Dentistry	978	10.1	6.10		3.07		5.23		2.84
N. of sexual partners within last 24 months	0	767	9.9	5.74	p < .001	3.52	p < .001	4.80	p < .001	3.38	p = .004
	1	4593	59.4	5.84		3.33		4.90		3.34
	2	1212	15.7	5.84		3.36		4.91		3.30
	3+	1161	15.0	5.78		3.35		4.86		3.36
Age at first intercourse	14 y or less	419	5.5	5.82	p < .001	3.20	p < .001	4.85	p = .001	3.41	p = .033
	15–16 y	2516	33.0	5.83		3.28		4.86		3.35
	17–18 y	3498	45.9	5.79		3.38		4.88		3.34
	19 y or more	1196	15.7	5.84		3.41		4.89		3.31
Sexual orientation	Heterosexual	9329	94.7	5.79	p = .007	3.39	p = .001	4.86	p = .193	3.36	p = .342
	Homosexual	177	1.8	5.83		3.45		4.81		3.28
	Other	341	3.5	5.87		3.20		4.83		3.37
Use of birth pill	Yes	1786	31.0	5.93	p < .001	3.16	p < .001	4.95	p < .001	3.29	p = .008
	No	3983	69.0	5.85		3.32		4.87		3.36
Smoking habit	Non-smoker	6927	71.3	5.80	p = .001	3.42	p < .001	4.88	p < .001	3.35	p = .095
	Current or ex-smoker	2785	28.7	5.76		3.30		4.81		3.41
Personal or close people’s experience of genital warts	Yes	840	8.5	5.88	p < .001	3.25	p < .001	4.89	p = .029	3.32	p = .127
	No	9061	91.5	5.78		3.40		4.86		3.37
HPV vaccination status	Vaccinated	2552	26.7	5.91	p < .001	3.15	p < .001	5.01	p < .001	3.09	p < .001
	Non-vaccinated	6993	73.3	5.77		3.47		4.81			3.46

Note: numbers may not add up to the total number due to missing data from questionnaire

Figure 1. Sentences assessing students’ knowledge and perception of HPV and vaccine-related conditions. T = true; F = false.

Figure 2. Perception. Level of agreement with each proposed item (see Figure 1 for the description of items). Mean value for each item is reported at the end of the bar. S = shame; T = trust; F = fear.

Table 2. Effect of the socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics on the level of knowledge and perception of HPV-related and vaccine-related conditions.

					Level of perceptions
		Level of knowledge			Shame			Trust			Fear
			95% CI			95% CI			95% CI			95% CI
	reference	Beta-coefficient	Lower	Upper	Beta-coefficient	Lower	Upper	Beta-coefficient	Lower	Upper	Beta-coefficient	Lower	Upper
Gender	(male)
Female		.14	.09	.20	−.16	−.22	−.10	−.03	−.08	.01	.12	.05	.20
Age		.03	.02	.05	−.06	−.07	−.04	.02	.00	.03	−.06	−.08	−.04
N. of sexual partners within last 24 months	(1 or 2 partners)
0		−.13	−.25	−.05	.05	−.08	.18	−.12	−.23	−.02	.02	−.14	.19
3 or more		−.03	−.10	.03	.02	−.05	.09	−.00	−.06	−05	.05	−.04	.14
Age at first intercourse	(15–18 y)
14 y or less		−.00	−.10	.10	−.11	−.21	.03	−.04	−.13	.05	.05	−.09	.19
19 y or more		−.00	−.07	.07	.11	.03	.17	.00	−.05	.06	.00	−.08	.10
Sexual orientation	(heterosexual)
Other		.05	−.04	.15	−.10	−.21	.05	−.06	−.15	.02	−.02	−.16	.11
Smoking habit	(non-smoker)
Current or ex-smoker		−.05	−.10	−.00	−.08	−.14	−.03	−.06	−.10	−.01	.06	−.01	.13
Personal or close people’s experience of genital warts	(no)
Yes		.11	.03	.20	−.07	−.15	.02	.03	−.04	.10	−.03	−.14	.08
HPV vaccination status	(non-vaccinated)
Vaccinated		.19	.06	.18	−.29	−.35	−.22	.22	.17	.28	−.50	−.58	−.42

Adjusted linear regression.

CI = confidence interval.

Table 3. Knowledge and perception of HPV-related and vaccine-related conditions by source of information.

							Perception
				Knowledge			Shame			Trust			Fear
		n	%	Mean	Difference between means	ANOVA	Mean	Difference between means	ANOVA	Mean	Difference between means	ANOVA	Mean	Difference between means	ANOVA
Healthcare workers	No	6582	65.9	5.71	0.23	p < .001	3.52	−0.38	p < .001	4.79	0.20	p < .001	3.46	−0.27	p < .001
	Yes	3406	34.1	5.94			3.14			4.99			3.19
Friend	No	9061	90.7	5.78	0.07	p = .029	3.41	−0.23	p < .001	4.85	0.06	p = .031	3.37	−0.06	p = .154
	Yes	927	9.3	5.85			3.18			4.91			3.31
Family	No	7817	78.3	5.76	0.13	p < .001	3.45	−0.28	p < .001	4.83	0.13	p < .001	3.40	−0.17	p < .001
	Yes	2171	21.7	5.89			3.17			4.96			3.23
TV	No	8354	83.6	5.78	0.05	p = .024	3.39	0.01	p = .733	4.85	0.05	p = .015	3.36	0.02	p = .649
	Yes	1634	16.4	5.83			3.40			4.90			3.38
Internet	No	8813	88.2	5.76	0.20	p < .001	3.40	−0.09	p = .009	4.85	0.08	p = .002	3.38	−0.14	p < .001
	Yes	1175	11.8	5.96			3.31			4.93			3.24
Newspaper	No	9479	94.9	5.78	0.18	p < .001	3.40	−0.19	p < .001	4.85	0.08	p = .039	3.37	−0.11	p = .063
	Yes	509	5.1	5.96			3.21			4.93			3.26
School	No	7106	71.1	5.73	0.20	p < .001	3.43	−0.14	p < .001	4.82	0.13	p < .001	3.41	−0.15	p < .001
	Yes	2882	28.9	5.93			3.29			4.95			3.26