• Victor Mendel da Silva Mello, Vitoria Carvalho Guimarães Dos Santos, Aimée Denzeler Baptista, Sandra Costa Fonseca, Carlos Augusto Faria, Claudia Lamarca Vitral, and Silvia Cavalcanti.
• Universidade Federal Fluminense, Faculdade de Medicina - Niterói (RJ), Brazil.
• Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2023 Jan 1; 69 (4): e20220291e20220291.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess physicians' knowledge about human papillomavirus infection and its prevention.MethodsDescriptive web-based survey with 15 objective questions targeted to physicians affiliated with the Regional Council of Medicine from Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Participants were invited by e-mail and the Council social networks, between January and December 2019.ResultsThe study sample had 623 participants, with a median age of 45 years, predominantly women (63%). The most frequent specialties were Obstetrics and Gynecology (21.1%), Pediatrics (11.2%), and Internists (10.5%). Concerning human papillomavirus knowledge, 27.9% of the participants were able to identify accurately all possible forms of transmission, and none of them could recognize all the risk factors of infection. Nevertheless, 95% recognized that asymptomatic infection could occur in both sexes. Regarding knowledge about clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and screening, only 46.5% were able to identify all human papillomavirus-related cancers, 42.6% were aware of the periodicity of Pap smears, and 39.4% indicated that serological test was not adequate for diagnosis. The recommended age group for human papillomavirus vaccination was recognized by 94% of the participants, as well as the need for a Pap smear and the use of condoms, even after vaccination.ConclusionsThere is good knowledge about prevention and screening for human papillomavirus infections; many gaps were identified regarding transmission, risk factors, and associated diseases among physicians in Rio de Janeiro state.

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