Table 2.

Mean (SD) HPV knowledge summary score and percent responding correctly and “don't know” to the 10 individual HPV knowledge items

Knowledge Item	% Responding Correctly	% Responding Don't Know
HPV can cause genital herpes. (F)	25	53
Having one type of HPV means that you cannot acquire new types. (F)	55	42
Genital HPV infection can cause ovarian cancer in women. (F)	9	31
An abnormal Pap smear may indicate that a woman has HPV. (T)	66	32
Most genital HPV infections do not clear up on their own. (F)	16	45
Most women with genital HPV have visible signs or symptoms. (F)	66	31
HPV is the least common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. (F)	60	38
Genital warts are caused by HPV infection. (T)	30	58
Genital HPV infection can cause cervical cancer in women. (T)	84	15
A Pap test (Pap smear) is used to find precancerous cells on the cervix. (T)	79	20
HPV knowledge summary score		4.9 (2.4)

Note: HPV knowledge was examined for those women who had heard of HPV prior to study entry (n = 718). An HPV knowledge summary score was created for each participant by assigning one point for each correct response and zero points for incorrect and “don't know” responses. Points were summed to create a knowledge summary score. Summary scores could range from 0 to 10. T = True. F = False.