TY - JOUR
T1 - Dutch dental hygiene students' knowledge of HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and HPV vaccination
AU - Poelman, Marcella R.
AU - Brand, Henk S.
AU - de Jong, Deborah G.
AU - van den Berg, Iris
AU - Dool, Rosalie
AU - de Visscher, Jan G. A. M.
AU - Jager, Derk H. Jan
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Dental Hygiene published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2023/9/10
Y1 - 2023/9/10
N2 - Introduction: The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer is rising, thus the understanding of HPV infection and vaccination among oral healthcare professionals is becoming increasingly important. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of Dutch dental hygiene students on HPV infection and vaccination and assessed various aspects of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study invited the entire Dutch dental hygiene student population registered in September 2016 to complete an online questionnaire concerning the knowledge of HPV infection and vaccination, including the aspects of HPV-related Oro-Pharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC). Data were analysed using t-tests, Mann–Whitney U tests and Chi-square tests. Results: Invited were all 1248 Dutch dental hygiene students and 232 (18.6%) students completed the questionnaire. More than 95% of the students indicated HPV infection as a risk factor for OPSCC and 48.7% was aware of the availability of HPV vaccination. Additionally, students considered it important to discuss HPV as a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer with their patients. In general, the students scored highest on the questions about risk factors for OPSCC and poorest on the questions about general HPV knowledge and HPV vaccination. Although the mean overall knowledge score was significantly higher in senior compared with junior students, knowledge scores of senior students remained insufficient. Conclusion: This study identified deficits in knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination among Dutch dental hygiene students. Future research should focus on improving the content of dental hygiene curricula and development of ongoing educational tools for dental hygienists.
AB - Introduction: The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer is rising, thus the understanding of HPV infection and vaccination among oral healthcare professionals is becoming increasingly important. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of Dutch dental hygiene students on HPV infection and vaccination and assessed various aspects of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study invited the entire Dutch dental hygiene student population registered in September 2016 to complete an online questionnaire concerning the knowledge of HPV infection and vaccination, including the aspects of HPV-related Oro-Pharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC). Data were analysed using t-tests, Mann–Whitney U tests and Chi-square tests. Results: Invited were all 1248 Dutch dental hygiene students and 232 (18.6%) students completed the questionnaire. More than 95% of the students indicated HPV infection as a risk factor for OPSCC and 48.7% was aware of the availability of HPV vaccination. Additionally, students considered it important to discuss HPV as a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer with their patients. In general, the students scored highest on the questions about risk factors for OPSCC and poorest on the questions about general HPV knowledge and HPV vaccination. Although the mean overall knowledge score was significantly higher in senior compared with junior students, knowledge scores of senior students remained insufficient. Conclusion: This study identified deficits in knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination among Dutch dental hygiene students. Future research should focus on improving the content of dental hygiene curricula and development of ongoing educational tools for dental hygienists.
KW - HPV human papillomavirus
KW - dental health education
KW - health knowledge
KW - papillomavirus vaccines
KW - squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85170529150&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/idh.12746
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/idh.12746
M3 - Article
C2 - 37691238
SN - 1601-5029
JO - International journal of dental hygiene
JF - International journal of dental hygiene
ER -