Overview of HPV

The public dissemination of health-related information is of great interest to the SOGC.

Last year an interesting study was conducted among Canadian media by researchers from the University of Toronto. The study pointed out that most cancer patients (70%) look to the media for information, and one-third believes that their decisions are influenced by this information.

The study explained that most reporters usually do not have prior medical/health-related education and that doctors need to simplify their language. Reporters also perceived a lack of proper communication between doctors and themselves as a barrier to getting out their stories.

HPV is an important and complex topic because there are many different types of the virus with multiple health outcomes, including genital warts and cervical cancer. We at the SOGC hope to surmount some of the communication barriers identified by Canadian journalists by offering you this background information on HPV.

André B. Lalonde, MD, FRCSC, FRCOG,
FSOGC, FACS, MSc
Executive Vice-President
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
of Canada (SOGC)