| dc.description.abstract | Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is a virus that causes genital warts and a range of different cancer types. Vaccination against HPV was introduced in Norway in 2009, for girls in the 7th grade, as a part of the Norwegian Childhood Vaccination Program. There has been much discussion about the HPV-vaccine before and after the vaccine introduction. The uptake of HPV-vaccination is lower (67-75%) than for other vaccines. The lower vaccine uptake may be explained by lack of information about HPV-related diseases, lack of information about the vaccine, fear of it or other factors. The aim of this thesis was to describe the girls and the boys knowledge of HPV and the HPV-vaccine and investigate if this knowledge influenced the willingness to get vaccinated. Method: In the fall of 2012, two surveys were conducted among girls and boys aged 15-26 years. A total of 301 girls and 249 boys completed the questionnaires which included questions about awareness of HPV and the HPV-vaccine, participation in vaccination, knowledge of HPV and HPV-related disease, and willingness to get vaccinated. Boys were asked through a web-based survey, while the girls were interviewed by phone. Results: Only 43% of girls and 30% of boys had heard of HPV. Even fewer had heard of the HPV-vaccine (21% of girls, 26% of boys). Despite the poor knowledge level, there was a high willingness to get vaccinated among the female (84%) and male (73%) respondents. The results from the regression showed that girls had more knowledge than boys of HPV (OR=1.815) and that it could lead to various types of cancers (OR=0.403). There was little association between knowledge and willingness to get vaccinated. However, among the boys there was a significant relationship between knowing that HPV can cause cancer and the willingness to receive HPV-vaccination. Conclusion: Knowledge of HPV, HPV-related disease and of HPV-vaccination was limited among girls and boys aged 15-26. There is however much willingness to get vaccinated, which may indicate high trust in the Norwegian Health Authorities to provide safe vaccines. Given the suboptimal vaccine uptake and low level of knowledge we recommend the use of other methods of communication than the current, to use GPs and lowering of costs to increase access to the HPV-vaccine. | eng |