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Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) represents one of the most commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the world. Although there has been a surge of interest in HPV knowledge and awareness, most of the available literature focu- ses on women ; conversely, studies in men are scarce, and those that exist show lower knowledge on HPV-related topics in com- parison to women. This study aimed to determine level and cor- relates of adequate HPV knowledge among men from the capital of Croatia. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 132 men that accom- panied their female partners for HPV testing was conducted at an STI clinic located in Zagreb, Croatia. A previously described Poster 37 © 2018 The Authors | © Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. | JDDG | 1610-0379/2018/16 (Suppl. 3) 36–43 15-item scale testing HPV knowledge was used, and satisfied knowledge base was defined as achieving at least 70 % of cor- rect responses. Chi-square tests were employed to identify rela- tionship between behavioural and demographic characteristics, as well as self-reported STIs with the level of HPV knowledge. Variables with statistical significance were appraised by means of logistic regression models. Results: Adequate HPV knowledge was exhibited by 38.64 % (51/132) of men included in the study. Although all of them were aware that HPV was an STI, only 47.73 % knew that the virus can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, and 39.39 % knew that some HPV types can disappear without treatment. Regarding the long-term consequences, although 80.3 % of men knew that HPV can cause cervical cancer, only 45.45 % and 22.72 % of them were aware that it can cause penile and oral cancer, respectively. Only one factor was significantly associated with adequate HPV knowledge in age-adjusted models, and that was self-reported history of genital warts (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Knowledge and awareness of HPV infection was suboptimal in Croatian men included in this study. Hen- ce adequate interventions aimed to increase awareness and knowledge in men should be implemented as a way to curtail the spread of HPV and to promote preventive practices. |
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