Concepções de estudantes do ensino médio sobre o Papilomavírus humano (HPV)

Abstract

Understanding teenage concepts of sexually transmitted diseases, especially human papillomavirus (HPV), is of fundamental importance, since infections with this virus have grown considerably in this age group and may be associated with the appearance of percussive lesions of cervical cancer, among others. The school environment, characterized by its heterogeneity of values, beliefs and customs, is an ideal place to work with HPV. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the conceptions of high school students on aspects of human sexuality associated with Human Papillomavirus (HPV). For this, six focus groups, homogeneous and heterogeneous in relation to sex, were carried out with students from the 3rd year of secondary education at the state college Dr. Lauro Passos, located in the city of Cruz das Almas-Bahia. The data obtained were analyzed in light of the content analysis proposed by Laurence Bardin. In this context, the results obtained here indicate that the students have limited knowledge about HPV, as well as erroneous conceptions, mainly related to contamination by HPV, aspects that indicate the need for more formative actions in this field.