HPV awareness and vaccine knowledge gaps among adults in bahrain: a community-based study

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) imposing a considerable clinical and economic burden on public health providers and having association with cervical cancer. HPV vaccines could prevent high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and strains of HPV that cause cancer and genital warts. This study aims to assess the knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccine and the willingness for HPV vaccine among adult population in Bahrain. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Bahrain's adult population aged 18–55 years. A web-based questionnaire was developed to collect data about socio-demographic characteristics, and knowledge regarding HPV and HPV vaccine and was forwarded through various social media pl. Informed consent was acquired before participation in the study. The knowledge score and willingness for the HPV vaccine were compared with demographics through binary logistic regression analysis. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 1242 participants were included with 47.2% belonging to the age group less than 30 years and 61.1% were females. Only 40.8% were aware of the HPV, 25.3% were aware of the mode of transmission of HPV and 28.3% knew about the association of HPV with cancer. Regarding the HPV vaccine, only 23.8% were aware with educational institutes 35.5% and social media 29.4% as major source of information, 2.9% had received and 62.7% were willing to take and advice HPV vaccine. This study highlights key factors influencing knowledge about HPV and willingness to receive the HPV vaccine among different demographic groups in Bahrain. It reveals that younger participants, particularly those under thirty, possess significantly higher levels of HPV awareness compared to older individuals. This suggests younger individuals may be more receptive to HPV information, likely due to exposure through educational campaigns or better access to digital resources. These insights are essential for shaping public health strategies and improving HPV vaccination rates in Bahrain. We had concluded that Bahraini population had an adequate level of awareness of HPV. However, knowledge regarding HPV vaccine is lacking with the high level of willingness for the vaccine.