A Study to Assess the Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Vaccine Against Human Papilloma Virus Infection Among Adolescent Girls (14–16 Years) in Selected Schools of Gujarat State with a View to Develop an Information Booklet

Abstract

Adolescence is a time of transition from childhood to adulthood. It is a particular stage of development during which a kid experiences significant physical, emotional, and social change as well as sexual maturation. The modern adolescent is thought to know more about international events. They represent one-fifth of the world’s population. In today’s scenario both parents are employed to fulfill the increasing demands to maintain the socio-economic status in society, the adolescents hardly receive the guidance of the elders which they need now more than at any other stage in their life. Unfortunately, schools and colleges do not impart a proper education about growing self to these adolescents. Hence, they depend mainly on their peers, magazines, the internet, and other networking sites for gaining knowledge about their biological changes and social values. With little or inaccurate knowledge, these young people engage in sexual activities, rendering themselves vulnerable to venereal diseases. A variety of proliferative cutaneous and mucosal lesions, including common skin warts, benign and malignant genital tract lesions, and potentially fatal pulmonary papillomata, are caused by HPVs, which are tiny (55 nm), DNA-containing viruses. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus, sometimes symptomatic, and infects most mammalian and many non-mammalian animal species. Strains are almost always species-specific. Most HPV-related infections in children and adolescents are benign.