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

Amara Swapna Lingam; Pradeep Koppolu; Sara Ahmad Alhussein; Rawa Kamal Abdelrahim; Ghadah Salim Abusalim; Sally ElHaddad; Sadaf Asrar; Mohammad Zakaria Nassani; Sarah Salah Gaafar; Ferdous Mohammed T Bukhary; AbdulRahman Saeed AlGhamdi; Ali Barakat; Mohammed Noushad; Hesham Almoallim

doi:10.2147/IDR.S365715

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

Infect Drug Resist. 2022 Jul 12:15:3711-3724. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S365715. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Amara Swapna Lingam^#¹, Pradeep Koppolu^#², Sara Ahmad Alhussein¹, Rawa Kamal Abdelrahim², Ghadah Salim Abusalim³, Sally ElHaddad¹, Sadaf Asrar⁴, Mohammad Zakaria Nassani⁵, Sarah Salah Gaafar^{5

6}, Ferdous Mohammed T Bukhary^{2

7}, AbdulRahman Saeed AlGhamdi⁸, Ali Barakat⁵, Mohammed Noushad⁵, Hesham Almoallim^{1

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Sciences, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Preventive Dental Sciences Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, AlKharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department Oral Biology, Liaquat college of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Restorative and Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Conservative Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Dental Department, Security Forces Hospital Program, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11545, Saudi Arabia.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: 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; human papillomavirus 16; oropharyngeal neoplasms; papillomavirus infections; papillomavirus vaccines; sexually transmitted diseases; squamous cell.