Knowledge, attitude, and practice on HPV vaccination among pre-university female students

Despite the availability of the HPV vaccine in our country, the mortality secondary to cervical cancer is still high as not many are interested in vaccinating the at-risk population. Hence, a study was conducted to identify the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the Human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination in pre-university female students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Tumkur district of India amongst female students studying in pre-university colleges. A total of 271 female students were included in the study. The mean knowledge score of the study population was 5.6/17 and only 169 (62%) students were aware of the effects of HPV. A total of 144 (53%) study participants were willing to take HPV vaccination if provided but 1/3 of them backed out after knowing the cost of vaccination. The study participants from the urban area had more knowledge about the effects of HPV (118/160 vs. 51/111; p <0.0001) than those from the rural area but there was no difference between them regarding attitude and practice toward HPV infection and its vaccination. The study population was found to have poor knowledge about HPV infection and HPV vaccination. Only 53% of study participants were willing to take HPV vaccination if provided but 1/3 of them backed out after knowing the cost of vaccination. The urban group was more knowledgeable than the rural group but both groups had a similar attitude and practice toward HPV infection and its vaccination.