Introduction: Cervical cancer is one of the few preventable cancers. Health education messages about the cancer and its prevention should form part of the prevention strategies. Assessing knowledge about various aspects of the cancer has an important role in determining knowledge gaps that exist and therefore helps in designing health education messages about the cancer. Sexual behaviour has been shown to play a major role in determining risk of contracting Human papillomavirus (HPV) and of developing cervical cancer. This study was designed to assess knowledge of HPV, HPV vaccine, cervical cancer and its correlates, and to assess sexual practices among female students at the University of Witwatersrand. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire that was administered in female residences and analysed using the STATA 10 statistical package. Results: A total of 860 questionnaires were distributed in 4 female residences. Amongst these, 190 questionnaires were completed. Awareness of cervical cancer was high (95%) but knowledge of its risk factors and preventive measures was low. Only 43% and 27% of the respondents had knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccine respectively. Although only 47% of the respondents were sexually active, sexual behaviour that would put these women at risk for contracting HPV infection and cervical cancer namely, high numbers of sexual partners, early age of coitarche and inconsistent condom use were present among those that were sexually active. Conclusion: Risk factors for cervical cancer and gaps in knowledge about cervical cancer, HPV and HPV vaccine exist among this population and there is need for further health education.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2005. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Genital human papillomavirus is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, including South Africa. Adult medical male circumcision (MMC) trials in Africa have shown decrease in acquisition of Human Immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections. In this follow-up study, swabs that were collected 21 months post-circumcision were tested for the presence of 13 high risk HPV and 24 low risk HPV, genotypes. Results show that 17.5% and 14.3% participants were infected with at least one low risk or high risk strain of HPV respectively. The most common types of high-risk HPV were type 16 (3.5%) and 18 (3.1%). These results suggest that there is an inverse association between MMC and HPV acquisition. Participants with at least one high risk strain of HPV were 4.6 times more likely to acquire HIV than participants without high-risk HPV. This was associated exclusively with high-risk HPV infection. HIV acquisition increased dramatically in men with multiple subtypes of HPV. In a second study, more HPV genotypes were detected on the inner foreskin tissue than on the outer foreskin tissue, highlighting its vulnerability to HPV. Washing of the penis, thus removing possible contaminants reduces the number of detectable HPV genotypes. This study confirmed that the uncircumcized foreskin, in particular the inner foreskin mucosa, offers a rich environment for HPV infections. This data will allow more insight into the HPV prevalence of young men in South Africa and the multi-factorial mechanisms in play with the association between medical male circumcision and decreased genital HPV prevalence.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [114]-135).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-83).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1998. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2002. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.