Knowledge and Attitudes of Surgery Specialists in West Africa towards Human Papillomavirus Vaccination

Abstract

Background: Cancer of the cervix is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a known cause of cancer of the cervix, and the disease is preventable if appropriate actions are taken in good time. All doctors are expected to have good knowledge of and usefulness of vaccines, particularly HPV vaccine in their locality Aim:To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of surgery specialists towards Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Method:This was a cross-sectional survey of 300 participants at the 2019 West African College of Surgeons (WACS) conference in Dakar Senegal. Data were obtained using self-administered questionnaire Results: Two hundred and sixty-five questionnaires out of 300 were adequately completed; response rate of 88.3%. The mean age of respondents was 50 ± 9.4 years (range: 26-73 years). A total of 180 (67.9%) respondents admitted knowledge of HPV vaccine types; 48 (26.7%) knew of 3 HPV types, 102 (56.7%) knew 2, while 30 (16.7%) participants knew of one type (χ2=115.422; P <0.0001). Of 265 respondents, 58 (21.9%) had their children vaccinated while 183 (69.1%) had not. Forty-seven parents (17.7) reported having girls vaccinated, 2 parents (0.8%) reported having boys vaccinated while 9 (3.4%) of respondents reported having both vaccinated. Religion, years of practice, and country of practice had no influence on HPV recommendation. There’s a need for more awareness and ad-hoc educational training among doctors across the West African region irrespective of specialist status on the need to undertake vaccine promotion and implementation as an integral component of their work.