AWARENESS OF WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE ABOUT HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS AND ITS PREVENTION

One of the urgent tasks of the healthcare system today is the timely diagnosis of precancerous conditions and cervical cancer. In 99,7% of cases, the human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as the cause of cervical cancer. The purpose of the study was to analyze the awareness of women of reproductive age about the human papillomavirus, risk factors for HPV infection and methods of its prevention, as well as to obtain a self–assessment of the respondents' own HPV risk level and determine their willingness to be vaccinated. A sociological study was conducted among 187 women of reproductive age from 18 to 49 years (the average age was 32,4 years). When analyzing respondents' awareness of the problem of HPV prevalence, the vast majority of respondents (80,8%) said they had heard of the human papillomavirus. 80,8% of respondents knew that the main route of infection was sexual, 55,6% had knowledge of the vertical route of HPV transmission from mother to fetus. 62% of respondents said they were aware of oncogenic HPV strains that cause cervical cancer. About 20% of women correctly indicated the clinical symptoms of HPV. 48,1% of respondents were aware of the asymptomatic course of HPV. More than half of the women knew about the possibility of HPV vaccination, while only 8% of the sample were vaccinated. More than half do not know if they have ever been tested for HPV. 48,7% of respondents are informed that there is currently no specific treatment for HPV. No more than 15% of the sample noted all risk factors for HPV infection. Most of the women classified themselves as low-risk, although they are mostly not vaccinated or tested for HPV. 63,6% of respondents would like to be vaccinated, but there is no direct link between the level of self-assessment of the risk of infection and the desire to be vaccinated.