The effects of an HPV education program by gender among Korean university students

Abstract

Purpose: This study compared the effects of an HPV education program by gender among Korean university students in terms of their knowledge of HPV, intention to prevent HPV, awareness of sexual rights, and perception of gender equality.

Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-post design was employed. 31 male and 28 female university students participated in eight sessions of an HPV prevention program for four weeks and in a self-administrative survey.

Results: At pre-test, the perception of gender equality and some of the intentions to prevent HPV, including the intention to make regular use of condoms, reduce the number of sexual partners, abstain from sex until marriage, and stop smoking or stay non-smoker, were lower among men than women. When these differences by gender at pre-test were taken into account using ANCOVA, education outcome measures at post-test did not differ by gender. After completing the HPV prevention program, both male and female students presented a significant increase in terms of HPV knowledge, awareness of sexual rights, and perception of gender equality. Among the intentions to prevent HPV, only male intention to recommend the Pap test to their partner and female intention to regularly seek the Pap test and pelvic examinations were significantly increased after the program.

Conclusion: The HPV program was effective for both genders eliminating gender differences in attitudes and prevention intentions of HPV. However, the intentions to prevent HPV did not increase significantly, and future research is warranted to better understand students' perceived obstacles for practicing HPV prevention methods.

Keywords: Health education; Intention; Motivation; Sex education; Sexual behavior; Students.