Awareness and attitude of female university students on the human papillomavirus and vaccination: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common factor in causing cervical cancer. HPV vaccine is a successful strategy to prevent cervical cancer. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to examine female university students’ knowledge and perceptions concerning HPV infection and its vaccine.
Materials & methods: The participants in this cross-sectional survey were female students of applied medical sciences at Imam Abdurrahman Bin Faisal University Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted using a structured 28-multiple-choice items questionnaire. A total of 168 participants were included in the survey between September to November 2022.
Results: The average age of participants was 20.10±1.74 years. The majority of the participants (52%) had knowledge of HPV. Whereas 52% of participants showed a positive attitude toward HPV vaccine. The age of the participants was positively and significantly associated with good knowledge of HPV (OR=1.884, 95% CI 1.06-3.35). Participants from a healthcare worker’s family were convinced that it could infect both men and women equally (67% vs. 42%, p-0.02).
Conclusions: Overall knowledge and attitude toward HPV and its vaccine were found adequate. It is crucial to implement an educational program within universities and awareness campaigns in community to encourage vaccination, which leads to lower incidence of cervical cancer.