Background:
Cervical cancer is the second leading
cause of death in
india. it is also one of the few
malignancies where an infectious etiological agent
human papilloma virus (HPV) has been identified. With the advent of HPV
vaccination, it is possible to reduce the
morbidity and
mortality associated with
carcinoma cervix. But biggest hurdle to achieve this is the lack of
awareness about the availability and use of
HPV vaccine. This study was conducted to know
knowledge and
awareness of
HPV infection and
vaccination among medical and paramedical
students. We also evaluated the acceptability and coverage of
HPV vaccine among these
students.
Methods:
This study was conducted among a total of 520
female students of the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara
University with the help of a
questionnaire. The study group included 207 MBBS
students, 167 BDS
students, 89
nursing students and 57 physiotherapy
students.
Results:
Most of the
students were in 18-20 years’
age group. Nearly 40.57% of the
students knew that HPV is sexually transmitted and 29.80% were aware that this
infection can be prevented. Availability of
HPV vaccine was known to 75% of the
students and the main source of their information was through their college teachings. Nearly 43.75% of the
students knew
HPV vaccine protects against
cervical cancer and 26.73% of the
students were vaccinated. Overall
knowledge and
awareness were better among
medical students.
Conclusions:
A lot of
work needs to be done so as to make the
target population accept
HPV vaccine. There is a great difference between
awareness of availability of the
vaccine and its use. This emphasizes the need for
health care professionals to take special interest in promoting this
vaccine in the general
population.