Vaccinating against HPV: Physicians’ and medical students’ point of view

Abstract The present survey was conducted among medical students and physicians affiliated to the Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil, between August 2006 and December 2007. 252 individuals responded to a questionnaire composed of 13 items regarding their individual status and their personal knowledge of the HPV vaccine properties. The data analysis that was carried out using chi-square test showed that 79.7% of the interviewed population would indicate the vaccine, and mostly, to girls aged 10–15 years old. While vaccine effectiveness and prophylaxis appeared to have been adequately understood, some of its properties such as safety and immunity duration still need further elucidation.