Pregnant women’s knowledge of Human papillomavirus and primary prevention of diseases related to thevirus

Information for nursing staff, 2025, 57(4), 24-27.

A. Dimitrova, B. Traycheva, G. Zayakova, I. Sokolova, T. Veselinova, D. Hadzhideleva

Faculty of Public Health “Prof. Dr. Tzecomir Vodenitcharov, MD, DSc”, Medical University – Sofia

Abstract. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a widespread sexually transmitted infection worldwide, which most often affects sexually active adolescents and young women. Improving the knowledge and awareness of expectant mothers about the negative consequences of the diseases related to the virus and the possibilities for primary prevention through immunization of adolescents are of key importance for ensuring the health of the future generation. The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge of pregnant women about the human papillomavirus and the importance of the vaccine as a means of primary prevention against the virus. Materials and Methods: A survey was conducted for the period June–July 2025 among 76 pregnant women who visited prenatal pregnancy monitoring offices in three medical institutions in the city of Sofia. An author’s questionnaire was used, including socio-demographic characteristics and 25 items, to examine the knowledge of respondents about the human papillomavirus and diseases associated with the virus, the ways of spreading and transmitting the infection and the preventive recommendations for the HPV vaccine in Bulgaria. The dataset was analyzed using Microsoft Excel on the Windows 10 operating system. Results and Conclusions: The results obtained from the study show that 94.7% of respondents are aware that HPV infection occurs in both sexes, and 92.1% indicated that the most common way of infection is genital contact. More than 2/3 are aware that the virus is a cause of cervical and anal cancer. Half of the respondents (53.9%) are not aware of other ways of transmission of the virus. Insufficient knowledge was found regarding the use of vaccination among adolescents (56.6%), as well as the effects and protection provided by the vaccine. The need for additional training to increase the awareness of pregnant women is emphasized.

Key words: knowledge, pregnant women, human papillomavirus, vaccines

Address for correspondence: Antoaneta Dimitrova, e-mail: a.dimitrova@foz.mu-sofia.bg