Knowledge, attitude and uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination among female undergraduates in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background and Aims:Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a known cause of cervical cancer which is the second-most common cancer among women worldwide. HPV vaccination is a primary prevention to reduce the occurrence of cervical cancer. This study assessed knowledge, attitude and uptake of HPV vaccine among female undergraduates in Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH).Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 400 female undergraduates of LASPOTECH in August 2018. Participants were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique and data was collected with a pretested, self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS version 20. Statistically significant level was set at P ≤ 0.05.Results:Mean age of respondents was 21.3 ± 2 years. Only 11 (3%) of the respondents had good knowledge of HPV and the vaccine. However, majority of the respondents 356 (92.7%) had positive attitude towards uptake of HPV vaccine. Only 10 (2.6%) of the respondents had received a single dose of HPV vaccine. Age, level of study and number of sexual partners of the respondents were statistically significantly associated with knowledge and attitude towards the HPV vaccine (P ≤ 0.05). The most common reason stated by the respondents for none uptake of HPV vaccine was lack of information.Conclusion:Knowledge and uptake of HPV vaccination among the respondents were poor. However, majority had positive attitude towards uptake of the vaccine. It is recommended that information on HPV and the vaccine should be made available to increase the knowledge and the uptake among female undergraduates in Lagos State.

Human papillomavirus and its vaccination: Knowledge and attitudes among female university students in Saudi Arabia

“…[ 22 ] Other barriers to HPV vaccine acceptance in the present study include concerns about side effects and fear of injections. [ 17 20 22 23 24 32 ] Additionally, health professionals were considered the most reliable sources of knowledge and awareness about HPV-related disease and vaccination; this finding is in agreement with those of other studies. [ 16 29 33 ] However, studies have shown that the internet, mass media, and social media were the most important sources of information on HPV-related problems and cervical cancer.…”

“…According to the study protocol, 84.8% of the participants showed poor total knowledge scores, similar to the findings of several studies in both developed and developing countries. [ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 ] Thus, increasing the level of knowledge of cervical cancer in Saudi Arabia is important for the promotion of healthy behaviors and the use of preventive methods.…”

“…However, studies in Western countries showed better levels of knowledge of the Pap smear as a screening tool. [ 18 19 20 21 ] This difference between Saudi Arabia and other countries may be related to the presence of public awareness campaigns on cervical cancer and the Pap smear as a screening tool and HPV vaccination programs in Western countries.…”

“…[ 14 15 ] Many studies, including those conducted in Saudi Arabia, have highlighted the lack of awareness of HPV infection and cervical cancer in the general population, as well as among health professionals. [ 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ] However, data on the perception and knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer among people living in the northern region of Saudi Arabia are limited, particularly in terms of the levels of knowledge on cervical cancer and its preventive vaccination.…”

Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus and Uptake of its Vaccine among Female Undergraduate Students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria

“…Many studies carried out among female students in secondary schools and universities in Nigeria have alluded to this fact. [11][12][13][14][15] In a similar way, parents and caregivers of young people have demonstrated poor knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and screening for their children in Nigeria. 16,17 The deficiency of such knowledge may adversely affect the acceptability and uptake of HPV vaccine.…”