Effect of an educational intervention on Hungarian adolescentsa awareness, beliefs and attitudes on the prevention of cervical cancer

The alarming national data on the mortality and morbidity rates of cervical cancer as well as the results of a Hungarian survey demonstrating adolescentsa low level of understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV vaccination encouraged the authors to conduct an educational intervention. The aim of this survey was to explore the impact of a brief, HPV-focused program on adolescentsa knowledge, beliefs and attitudes. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was completed by 394 male and female adolescents in September, 2010, in Hungary. Half of the students (48.5%) then had a one-off educational intervention on aspects cervical cancer lasting 45 min lesson, while the rest of the participants, the control group, did not have the educational intervention. Three months following the education, both groups were retested using the same questionnaire. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).