Vaccination's Role in Prevention of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection and the Contribution of Community Nurses.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide. HPV vaccination constitutes a key prevention strategy. Aim: Investigation of vaccination programs as a measure to prevent HPV and the role of the nurses in the success of these programs. Material and Methods: A literature review was conducted regarding articles published from 2012 to 2022 in Greek and English languages in the online databases PubMed and Google Scholar with the keywords HPV vaccination, school nurse, health education, health promotion, prevention, community, cervical cancer. Randomized clinical trials, cohort studies, descriptive studies, meta-analyses and qualitative studies were searched. A total of 203 articles were found, however 14 of them were evaluated to meet the criteria for inclusion in the study. Results: The decision about HPV vaccination is multifactorial. The main barriers were the young age of the student, ignorance regarding the effects of HPV and the benefits of vaccination, mistrust of the state and health workers, poor service delivery, and different health or religious beliefs. Information campaigns that were carried out in schools successfully improved adolescents' beliefs about ways to prevent HPV. Conclusions: Vaccination constitutes the only means of preventing HPV infection. The contribution of the nurses to the primary prevention of HPV is crucial and effective through the implementation of educational programs and vaccination. School/community nurses necessitate knowledge and time to answer the questions and concerns of parents and students. These challenges highlight the importance of having a well-designed program targeting at education and vaccination coverage to promote public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]