Publication:

Knowledge of Cancer cervix and its causative agents among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected adolescent women in rural Medical College in Maharashtra, India

Background The aim of this study is to examine the knowledge of human papilloma virus (HPV) and cervical cancer among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected female adolescents attending Antenatal OPD in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Government Medical College, Miraj, Maharashtra, India.

Methods Subjects were recruited randomly from OPD attending patients.  A total of 30 subjects, 15 HIV-infected and 15 HIV-uninfected were selected via randomization and completed a measure of HPV knowledge, based on a previously validated instrument. The study took place in December 2017.

Results The overall mean score on the measure for all subjects was 43.3% (S.D. 10.9). There was no significant difference in HPV knowledge between the HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected groups. Based on results from a previous large-scale study using the same validated measure, this sample scored significantly worse on general HPV knowledge than samples from the other studies.

Conclusions Given the limited knowledge of HPV in this sample, there is greater need for education about the prevention of cervical cancer, specifically among high-risk adolescent women.