Hae Won KIM
Seoul National University, South Korea
Title: Perception of the human papillomavirus and the willingness to prevent HPV infection of the boys
Biography
Biography: Hae Won KIM
Abstract
The rate of HPV vaccination is low and formal education for HPV prevention is not provided to Korean students. This study explored the perception of HPV and the willingness to prevent HPV infection of Korean boys. The survey design involved 615 Korean boys. Measurements were the levels of the perception of the severity of HPV as a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and as a cause of cancer, and their willingness to prevent HPV infection using at least one of four methods toward the boys and the girls. HPV as an STI in boys (p<0.05) and as a cause of cervical cancer (p<0.05) were associated with minimizing the number of sexual partners toward the boy. Whereas, HPV as a cause of cervical cancer was associated with condom use (p<0.05), delaying sexual activity (p<0.05), and minimizing the number of sexual partners (p<0.05) and HPV as an STI in boys (p<0.01) were associated with minimizing the number of sexual partners toward the girl. Extending the perception of HPV to the girls could increase the willingness of boys to prevent HPV infection. Boys should be made more aware that HPV causes cervical cancer and is a common STI in both sexes. This work was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (grant number: 2015-R1-A1-A3A0-4001267)