Evaluation of HPV And HPV vaccines knowledge level of pharmacy students in Turkey: Pre-post test

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention on pharmacy students’ knowledge regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV), vaccination and screening, as well as their beliefs about HPV vaccination. Method: A pre-test and post-test interventional study was conducted in February 2023 among 66 fourth-year pharmacy students at a university in Turkey. Data were collected through an electronic survey consisting of the HPV Knowledge Scale (HPV-KS), the Health Belief Model Scale for Human Papillomavirus and Its Vaccination (HBMS-HPVV), and the Pap-smear Knowledge Questionnaire, both before and after the educational intervention. To assess differences and changes between pre-test and post-test responses, the Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis H test were applied as appropriate. Result: The findings demonstrated a statistically significant increase in students’ HPV-KS and Pap-smear Knowledge levels following the educational intervention (p <.001, for both). Notable improvements were observed in the perceived benefits (p = .001) and perceived susceptibility (p < .05) subdimensions of the HBMS-HPVV scale. Conclusion: The educational intervention proved effective in enhancing pharmacy students' knowledge and positively influencing their beliefs concerning the benefits of HPV vaccination and susceptibility to HPV infection.