Peer Education on HPV: Impact on Health Sciences Students' Knowledge, Awareness, and Concern

March 27, 2025 updated by: Beyzanur İşbay Aydemir, Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

The Effect of Peer Education for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) on Knowledge, Awareness and Concern Levels of Students in the Faculty of Health Sciences

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 400 million treatable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as syphilis, chlamydia and human papillomavirus (HPV) occur each year in people aged 15-49, mostly in developing countries. As HPV is a sexually transmitted virus, it has been shown to be the most important aetiological factor in cervical cancer in women (99.7%). Vaccination and education of young people about sexuality and STDs are very important in the prevention of HPV. In this respect, the aim of this study was to find out the level of knowledge, concern and awareness of HPV infection among university students and to increase their awareness by informing them about the subject through their peers. The study was conducted as a pre-test and post-test one-group study. The sample of the study consisted of all final year students of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (85 students), Nutrition and Dietetics (60 students), Audiology (35 students), Child Development (80 students), Health Management (44 students) and Social Work (45 students) studying in the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. The students were trained by the Gynaecology Nursing Intern student group (9 students) of the Department of Nursing. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Characteristics Form, the HPV Knowledge Scale and the Human Papilloma Virus Awareness and Concern Level Scale (HPV-FAS). The relevant forms and the consent form were completed by the students before, after and one month after the training.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

127

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey
    • Türkiye
      • İstanbul, Türkiye, Turkey
        • Istanbul Aydın University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All individuals who are senior students in the Faculty of Health Sciences departments and who agree to participate in the study will be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who did not complete the study and did not speak and understand Turkish were excluded from the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Sleep Hygiene Training
Behavioral: peer education
The training titled "The Effect of Peer Education on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) for Students in the Faculty of Health Sciences on Knowledge, Awareness, and Concern Levels" includes scientific and up-to-date information about HPV transmission methods, prevention, risk factors, treatment methods, and vaccination. The content of the training aims to provide students with accurate information about HPV, as well as highlight the negative health effects of the virus, particularly its association with serious diseases like cervical cancer. The training seeks to increase students' awareness of HPV and help them manage their levels of concern about the virus. Through the peer education method, students were able to interact with each other, thus providing a more effective learning experience.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sociodemographic Characteristics Form
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
It consists of nine questions containing sociodemographic data of students, developed by the researchers.
Through study completion, an average of 6 months
HPV Knowledge Scale (HPV-KS)
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
The HPV-KS was developed in 2013 by Waller and colleagues to measure individuals' knowledge levels about HPV, the HPV vaccine, and screening tests. The scale examines whether individuals have previously heard about HPV, the HPV vaccine, and HPV screening tests, as well as the extent of their knowledge on these topics. The first subdimension of the HPV-KS consists of 16 items and assesses participants' general knowledge about HPV. The second subdimension includes six items and is related to HPV screening tests. The third subdimension consists of seven items and asks participants to respond to items about the HPV vaccine. The independent subdimension of the HPV-KS has been developed in three different forms for the HPV vaccination program conducted in three different countries. For each item in the HPV-KS, participants are expected to mark "Yes," "No," or "I don't know." The total score obtained from the HPV-KS ranges from 0 to 33.
Through study completion, an average of 6 months
Human Papillomavirus Awareness and Concern Scale (HPV-ACS)
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
Developed by Yılmaz Esencan and colleagues (2023), this scale is designed as a five-point Likert-type and consists of 19 items and three subdimensions. The subdimensions of the scale are "Concern about health," "Concern about being excluded," and "Awareness." The scale scores range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 76 points. A higher total score indicates a stronger awareness of HPV. The Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient of the original scale was determined to be 0.905.
Through study completion, an average of 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 15, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

March 15, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 27, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 27, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 3, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 3, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 27, 2025

Last Verified

March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024/04

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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