Awareness and knowledge of HPV, cervical cancer, and vaccines in young women after first delivery in São Paulo, Brazil : a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The success of HPV vaccination programs will require awareness regarding HPV associated diseases and the benefits of HPV vaccination for the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, cervical cancer prevention, vaccines, and factors associated with HPV awareness among young women after birth of the first child. METHODS: This analysis is part of a cross-sectional study carried out at Hospital Maternidade Leonor Mendes de Barros, a large public maternity hospital in Sao Paulo. Primiparous women (15-24 years) who gave birth in that maternity hospital were included. A questionnaire that included questions concerning knowledge of HPV, cervical cancer, and vaccines was applied. To estimate the association of HPV awareness with selected factors, prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using a generalized linear model (GLM). RESULTS: Three hundred and one primiparous women were included; 37% of them reported that they "had ever heard about HPV", but only 19% and 7%, respectively, knew that HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and that it can cause cervical cancer. Seventy-four percent of interviewees mentioned the preventive character of vaccines and all participants affirmed that they would accept HPV vaccination after delivery. In the multivariate analysis, only increasing age (P for trend = 0.021) and previous STI (P < 0.001) were factors independently associated with HPV awareness ("had ever heard about HPV"). CONCLUSIONS: This survey indicated that knowledge about the association between HPV and cervical cancer among primiparous young women is low. Therefore, these young low-income primiparous women could benefit greatly from educational interventions to encourage primary and secondary cervical cancer prevention programs.This study was supported by a research grant from Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, World Health Organization (ref: V20-181-13). The authors are grateful to Dr M.T. Aguado for helpful discussions. We are also grateful to Dr Corintio Mariani Neto for the unconditional support provided during field work and to nurses from Hospital Maternidade Leonor Mendes de Barros

Prevalência de depressão e fatores associados em comunidade de baixa renda de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul Prevalence of depression and associated factors in a low income community of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

OBJETIVO: Estimar a prevalência e os fatores demográficos e socioeconômicos associados à depressão em adultos e idosos em uma comunidade de baixa renda de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado com adultos com >20 anos de idade residentes nos distritos sanitários da Restinga e Extremo Sul, na cidade de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, de julho a dezembro de 2009. A variável dependente do estudo foi a depressão, avaliada pela Escala de Depressão Pós-Natal de Edimburgo. As variáveis independentes foram sexo, idade, situação conjugal atual, escolaridade e nível econômico. Empregou-se teste qui-quadrado de Pearson na análise bruta e regressão de Poisson com variância robusta na análise ajustada. RESULTADOS: Dentre os entrevistados, a prevalência de depressão encontrada foi de 16,1% (IC95%: 14,9%; 17,4%). Após análise ajustada, observou-se que a depressão esteve associada ao sexo feminino (RP = 2,38). Além disso, observou-se tendência de maiores ocorrência de depressão conforme o aumento da faixa etária e diminuição dos níveis de escolaridade e renda. CONCLUSÕES: Os valores de depressão encontrados foram semelhantes a outros estudos populacionais. Atenção específica deve ser destinada a mulheres e indivíduos de baixa escolaridade, que apresentaram maiores ocorrências de depressão.<br>OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with depression in adults and in the elderly in a low income community of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of adults with > 20 years of age living in the Health Districts of Restinga/Extremo Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, between July and December 2009. The dependent variable was depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Independent variables were sex, age, current marital status, educational level and economic level. The Chi-square test was used for the crude analysis and Poisson regression with robust variance for the adjusted analysis. RESULTS: Among respondents, the prevalence of depression was 16.1% (95% CI: 14.9%, 17.4%). After adjusted analysis, we found that depression was associated with the female gender (PR = 2.38). In addition, there was a trend of higher occurrence of depression with increasing age and decreasing levels of schooling and income. CONCLUSIONS: The values of the results for depression were similar to other population studies. Specific attention should be given to women and individuals with low schooling