Physicians’ knowledge, attitude, and practices toward HPV disease and vaccination in Al Ain city, UAE

Abstract

Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the world’s most common sexually transmitted disease. It accounts for 70% and 72% of all cervical cancer cases and anal cancer cases worldwide, respectively. Annually, over 470,000 women are diagnosed globally with cervical cancer, and 233,372 of them die.

Objective: The HPV vaccine could now largely prevent cervical cancer and potential death. However, uptake of the vaccine is variable in our population due to many factors. We believe that one major factor is the physician’s knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) toward HPV disease and vaccination. Although the HPV vaccine has been added to the UAE vaccination schedule since 2010, the physician’s KAP toward HPV disease and vaccination in our country have been poorly studied. This study aims to examine and identify the gaps in the physician’s KAP. These gaps can later be targeted in a quality improvement project in the future.

Methods: A 20-question survey was distributed to different physicians working in departments such as the pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, and family medicine, both in the primary health care and government sectors. A total of 110 surveys were collected and analyzed through Microsoft Excel.

Results and conclusion: The survey results revealed some gaps in knowledge, although a good percentage of the surveyed physicians seem to recommend the vaccine.