Infection and Drug Resistance (Jul 2022)

Dental Students’ Perception, Awareness and Knowledge About HPV Infection, Vaccine, and Its Association with Oral Cancer: A Multinational Study

  • Lingam AS,
  • Koppolu P,
  • Alhussein SA,
  • Abdelrahim RK,
  • Abusalim GS,
  • ElHaddad S,
  • Asrar S,
  • Nassani MZ,
  • Gaafar SS,
  • Bukhary FMT,
  • AlGhamdi ARS,
  • Barakat A,
  • Noushad M,
  • Almoallim H

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 3711 – 3724

Abstract

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Amara Swapna Lingam,1,* Pradeep Koppolu,2,* Sara Ahmad Alhussein,1 Rawa Kamal Abdelrahim,2 Ghadah Salim Abusalim,3 Sally ElHaddad,1 Sadaf Asrar,4 Mohammad Zakaria Nassani,5 Sarah Salah Gaafar,5,6 Ferdous Mohammed T Bukhary,2,7 AbdulRahman Saeed AlGhamdi,8 Ali Barakat,5 Mohammed Noushad,5 Hesham Almoallim1,9 1Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Sciences, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Preventive Dental Sciences Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, AlKharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 4Department Oral Biology, Liaquat college of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi, Pakistan; 5Department of Restorative and Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 6Conservative Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; 7Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 8Dental Department, Security Forces Hospital Program, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11545, Saudi Arabia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Amara Swapna Lingam, Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Sciences, Dar Al Uloom Univeristy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection forms a major etiological factor for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), which has exhibited increased global incidence.Aim: To compare the knowledge regarding HPV, its association with OPC, and HPV vaccine among students from different countries, years of the undergraduate program, and gender.Methods: The current multinational cross-sectional study was conducted in 886 undergraduate dental students from Egypt, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Sudan through Google survey forms from July 2021 to September 2021. The survey form comprised 27 items divided into four sections. The answers to the questionnaire were compared among students from different countries, different years of the undergraduate program, and males and females. Chi-square test was used to evaluate the correlation between the demographic characteristics of students and their knowledge regarding HPV and OPC.Results: Females exhibited a better knowledge regarding knowledge and perception on HPV vaccine, whereas males exhibited a better knowledge regarding HPV and its correlation with OPC, and these differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The third- and fourth-year undergraduate students displayed a higher awareness of OPC and its connection with HPV than other year students, and this variance was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). Third-year and internship students exhibited a more positive attitude and comfort regarding the vaccine and discussing the same with patients than the other educational-level students. Students from India exhibited better knowledge about HPV and its association with OPC than the students from other countries, and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Disparities in knowledge regarding HPV-related oral cancer have been detected among the female and male participants among different nations. From the entire study population, Indian students exhibited better knowledge regarding HPV. Females from all the nations exhibited a more positive attitude and comfort regarding the vaccine and discussing the same with patients than males. The results of this necessitate intervention measures including training workshops and awareness campaigns. Improving their knowledge regarding the same may increase their awareness, resulting in better patient care.Keywords: carcinoma, squamous cell, human papillomavirus 16, oropharyngeal neoplasms, papillomavirus infections, papillomavirus vaccines, sexually transmitted diseases

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