3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Knowledge of cervical cancer, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and HPV vaccination among primary health care workers in the Mamusa and Naledi sub districs(2017) Ajayi, Adekunle OmoniyiIntroduction: Cervical cancer is a very common female cancer; with up to 524,000 cases being diagnosed annually worldwide.1 Human papilloma virus (HPV) has long been established as the causative factor in the development of cervical cancer.2, 3 HPV vaccination has been found to drastically reduce the development of cervical cancer especially if administered to young people before their sexual debut. This study was to assess the knowledge of primary health care workers in the Mamusa and Naledi sub-districts in the North West Province about cervical cancer, HPV and the HPV vaccine. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study done with 116 primary health care workers using a self-administered questionnaire that was derived from a duet of questionnaires previously used in Poland and Australia. Adequate knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV vaccination meant getting 70% of the questions asked on the subject correctly while a threshold of 80% was used for adequate knowledge of HPV vaccination. All categories of primary health workers were included in the study asides from pharmacists who were excluded. Descriptive statistics, tests of association and logistic regression analysis was used in the study. The survey was done between September to November 2016 following ethics approval from the University of Witwatersrand. Results: 116 participants were involved in this study. The majority were black female professional nurses with diplomas. The mean age of the participants was 36.6 ± 8.7 years. Only 26% of the respondents had adequate knowledge of cervical cancer. 41% of respondents had adequate knowledge of HPV, while 67% of respondents had adequate knowledge about HPV vaccination. In our study, we found a significant association between knowledge of HPV and the health care worker category (p < 0.001). There was a significant association between knowledge of HPV vaccination and the highest educational level that was attained by the respondents (p= 0.010). Conclusion: Primary health care workers form an integral part in the fight against cervical cancer. Significant gaps still exist in the level of knowledge of health care workers, particularly in relation to cervical cancer and HPV. Improved learning and training opportunities for primary health care workers can help correct the knowledge deficitItem Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine immunisation as an intervention programme for the prevention of cervical cancer and other similar HPV genotype-related diseases in South Africa: Some ethical and legal matters for consideration(2014-08-22) Motopi, Lineo MamphiA new opportunity to reduce cervical cancer deaths as well as other HPV associated diseases arises from recently developed prophylactic vaccines. A large body of scientific literature concludes that the vaccines provide 100% protection against the oncogenic (high-risk) HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for about 70% of all cervical cancers in women. The vaccines also protect against infections with HPV 6 and 11, the cause of about 90% of genital warts (condylomataacuminata) in both males and females. South Africa is faced with uncertainties about how to implement a HPV vaccine immunisation programme aimed at the improvement of health in relation to the burden of disease caused by cervical cancer and related HPV-implicated diseases whilst struggling to provide the most basic of healthcare services in the midst of a HIV pandemic and a diminished base of key healthcare professionals. In such a context and relative to other priorities and the comparative benefits of different interventions, should, and if so why should South Africa invest in a HPV vaccine immunisation programme; likewise, if not, why not? In this research, report I will provide the main ethical and legal issues related to the implementation of a National HPV vaccine immunisation intervention programme. The research method used is a literature review of some ethical & legal issues in HPV vaccine immunisation analysing findings by way of critical thinking and moral reasoning. The outcomes of my research report suggest that South Africa is bound ethically and legally to provide HPV vaccine immunisation as an intervention to reduce the scourge of HPV infections, especially cervical cancer-based on the outcomes, I make recommendations concerning policy changes at the National level. These changes include interventions targeting the youth with an HPV vaccine immunisation programme included as one type of intervention.