Assessment of knowledge about cervical cancer and its prevention among female students aged 17-26 years

Knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer and prevention measures among female students in Poland: a cross-sectional, decade apart study

OBJECTIVE

Cervical cancer (CC) is a global health issue, despite the availability of effective preventive measures. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the comprehension of CC and its preventive measures among 17-25-year-old female students living in southern Poland, to compare the results with the data obtained in 2012 and to propose actionable recommendations for improving the current state of affairs.

METHODS

The study collected data from 464 female students during a ten-month period in 2022 using a pre-validated tool developed by our group, CCKP-64 categorized into sections: personal information, basic CC knowledge, risk factor assessment, awareness of primary and secondary prevention, and sources of information.

RESULTS

The 98.92% of participants were aware of CC, 42.24% linked it to an infection. Genetic factors and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection were commonly identified as risk factors. Most of the participants (81.90%) knew about the Pap smear and planned to undergo the test (74.74%). The most common sources of information were the Internet (81.68%), family and friends (46.77%), and medical staff (42.89%). Comparison with the 2012 cohort indicated a decrease in awareness of HPV vaccine existence (69.85% vs. 53.23%, p<0.001) and cytological examination (91.21% vs. 81.90%, p<0.001), but increase in percentage of vaccinated population (9.35% vs. 19.43%, p=0.001).

CONCLUSION

The insufficient knowledge and deteriorating trends in CC prevention among young women over the last decade are concerning. The proportion of vaccinated women remains unsatisfactory. Measures to enhance awareness of national reimbursed HPV vaccination program are necessary.

Knowledge, attitude, practices, and associated factors toward cervical cancer among female health sciences students of Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Early screening and vaccination can prevent cervical cancer; however, the low levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice among the young can contribute to the high prevalence of cervical cancer.

Objective

This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of cervical cancer and associated factors among female Health Sciences students of the College of Health Sciences at Addis Ababa University.

Design

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2022 to June 2022 among regular undergraduate female Health Sciences students of Addis Ababa University.

Methods

Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS. Results were presented using descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis was conducted to look at the existence of significant associations and determine adjusted odds ratio. Statistical significance was declared at p-value ⩽0.05.

Results

The majority of the study participants were within the age range of 18-24 years. From the 305 female Health Sciences students, almost all had heard about cervical cancer and 93.4% of them reported that human papillomavirus is the causative agent. About 75% of the respondents recognized at least one possible symptom of cervical cancer. Furthermore, nearly 70% and 78.3% of the participants showed positive attitudes toward taking and recommending human papillomavirus vaccines respectively. Only 16.1% and 48.9% of the respondents have good knowledge, and a positive attitude respectively. Surprisingly only 1.6% and 0.3% of the respondents have taken the human papillomavirus vaccine and undergone cervical screening respectively. Radiography technology students are about 86% less likely to have good knowledge compared to students in other fields of study (p = 0.04). Furthermore, year 4 and above students have significantly higher knowledge (89.2%) compared to those in years 1-3 (58%; AOR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.35).

Conclusion

The knowledge of female Health Sciences students on cervical cancer was moderate, and about half had a positive attitude. However, their practice of human papillomavirus screening and vaccination was very low. Level of education and field of study were significantly associated with the knowledge of cervical cancer. Addressing gaps through awareness programs, and enhancing accessible health services can help empower these future health professionals.

Determinants of cervical cancer knowledge and barriers to human papillomavirus vaccine uptake among female university students: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer is the second most common female cancer in Ghana. Cervical cancer is preventable through knowledge, vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), screening and treatment of precancerous lesions.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the determinants of cervical cancer knowledge and barriers to HPV vaccine uptake among female university students in Ghana.

DESIGN

An anonymous, online cross-sectional study was conducted from 25 June to 22 September 2024.

METHODS

The survey contained questions on demographic characteristics, cervical cancer risk factors, symptoms, HPV vaccination and barriers to vaccine uptake. Binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the factors associated with knowledge of cervical cancer. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 1662 female university students responded to the online survey. The mean age of the respondents was 21.5 ± 2.03 years. Overall, the prevalence of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer was 60.2%. The least recognised cervical cancer symptom was blood in the stool or urine (58.4%). Respondents who had a steady partner and living together had 3.59 times higher odds of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer compared to respondents who were not dating. Muslim respondents had 2.13 times higher odds of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer compared to Christian. Unvaccinated respondents had 3.85 times higher odds of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer compared to those who had received the HPV vaccine. More than four-fifths (87.0%) of the respondents indicated that they had not been vaccinated against HPV. The major barriers to HPV vaccine uptake included: inadequate knowledge of the vaccine, fear of side effects, lack of knowledge about the vaccination site, fear of injection and doubts regarding the vaccine's efficacy.

CONCLUSION

Improving access to cervical cancer awareness and HPV vaccination among university students is a critical public health goal to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. It is important to promote a free national school-based HPV vaccination programme. Multi-component school-based educational interventions, including traditional methods such as lectures, group discussions and digital tools like web-based educational platforms should be implemented to improve cervical cancer knowledge among university students.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception Regarding the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Among Parents at Al-Madinah Al-Munawwar: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

 Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer in reproductive-age Saudi women. Parents' understanding and attitude regarding HPV vaccination in young girls are vital to preventing cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of parents in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwara towards the HPV vaccine and identify factors influencing their decision to vaccinate their children.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 500 parents in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwara. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine, attitudes towards vaccination, and perceptions of vaccine safety and efficacy. Data were analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 21; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY).

RESULTS

Parents have 57.6% knowledge about HPV, 69.2% perceive it as dangerous, and 29.8% know its link to cervical cancer. Physicians are the primary source, and 81.2% believe the vaccine protects HPV. Key predictors of vaccine acceptance included higher educational levels, awareness of HPV-related health risks, and recommendations from healthcare professionals.

CONCLUSION

The study reveals a lack of knowledge about HPV infection and vaccines among Saudi Arabian parents, with only 7.2% having vaccinated their children, emphasizing the need for education and screening programs.

Pitavastatin induces caspase-mediated apoptotic death through oxidative stress and DNA damage in combined with cisplatin in human cervical cancer cell line

Pitavastatin (PITA) is a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor to treat hypercholesterolemia and in recent studies is focused that its potential anti-cancer effect. This study was aimed to elucidate the effect of PITA alone and in combination with cisplatin on cervical cancer cells (HeLa) in vitro. Cytotoxicity of PITA (5-200 μM) was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and neutral red uptake (NRU) assays for 24, 48, and 72 h. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle analyses were performed in flow cytometry (0.1-100 μM). The evaluation of genotoxic effects and oxidative DNA damage of PITA (2-200 μM) were performed with standard comet assay, formamidopyrimidine glycosylase (fpg)-modified comet assay, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) activation in HeLa cells. PITA alone reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner (20-200, 20-200, and 5-200 μM for 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively, in MTT). The combined treatment of PITA with cisplatin resulted in significantly greater inhibition of cell viability. ROS and DNA damage increased significantly at 100 μM for 4 h and 20 μM for 24 h, respectively. PITA-induced apoptosis, an increased proportion of sub G1 cells, was monitored, and also, it increased the expression of active caspase-9 and caspase-3 and upregulated cleaved poly adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase (PARP) by western blotting and caspase 3/8/9 multiple assay kit. We conclude that PITA can be used to efficiently cervical cancer studies, and promising findings have been obtained for further studies.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Cervical Cancer Prevention among Female University Students in AlKharj, Saudi Arabia

Background

Cervical Cancer (CC) is the fourth most frequent malignancy worldwide among females with significant death rates. It ranks as the 8th most frequent cancer in Saudi female. CC is preventable, with likelihood of full treatment by early detection, because of its long pre-invasive period. Lack of awareness and practice on CC prevention and screening increase the risk of disease.

Objective

to examine knowledge, attitude, and practice on CC prevention among Saudi female university students.

Methods

A facility-based cross-sectional study with a convenience sample included 594 female university students studying at health and non-health colleges of Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University in Al-Kharj City, Saudi Arabia. All female students were asked to complete an online questionnaire on knowledge, attitude, and practice on CC prevention.

Results

A total of 594 respondents to the questionnaire, 88.7% of them had unsatisfactory knowledge about CC. Out of a total of 27 points, students' knowledge mean score was 9.3 ± 6.4. Conversely the majority of students (94.4%) had positive attitude toward CC; the mean attitude score was 34.52 ± 5.04 out of 45. Regarding students practice, less than 7% of students were vaccinated against HPV and only 3.7% were screened for cancer cervix. Married females, health colleges students, and high attitude score were significant predictors for the students' knowledge about cancer cervix (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Majority of the respondents displayed lack of knowledge; however, they had a positive attitude toward CC. Very alarmingly, almost all of students had inadequate practice regarding CC prevention. So, the study recommends developing and implementing educational programs and strategies for female university students to improve their knowledge and practice related to cervix cancer. Results of this study provide evidence that can help in formulating effective awareness strategies and educational programs for women that would help in CC prevention.

Developing an evaluation indicators of health literacy for cervical cancer among Chinese women: a modified Delphi method study

BACKGROUND

Increasing women's health literacy is the key to preventing cervical cancer, and various tools have been developed to assess women's cancer health literacy. However, many of these tools come from other countries and have not been adapted to Chinese requirements. Furthermore, a system for evaluating cervical cancer health literacy among Chinese women has not been developed. Therefore, we sought to establish an evaluation index system for cervical cancer health literacy among Chinese women and to provide an effective evaluation tool for tertiary prevention of cervical cancer in China.

METHODS

We invited 20 recognized experts to participate in two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, and the modified Delphi process with percentage weighting and multiplication was used. A literature review identified 67 potential indicators. Subsequent discussions within our research team led to the retention of 48 indicators following a rigorous screening process. On this basis, two rounds of Delphi expert consultation were conducted to rate and screen the indexes. Percentage weighting and multiplication were used to determine index weights.

RESULTS

Twenty experts participated in the first-round Delphi consultations (95.23% recovery rate). In the second-round Delphi consultations, 20 questionnaires were returned (100%), and the expert authority coefficient was 0.93 ± 0.02. After both rounds of Delphi consultation, 4 first-level indicators, 9 second-level indicators, and 32 third-level indicators were identified for cervical cancer literacy among Chinese women. On a five-point scale, importance ratings ranged from 3.76 to 4.95 points, with variation coefficients ranging from 0.06 to 0.25, while sensitivity ratings ranged from 3.71 to 4.83 points, with variation coefficients ranging from 0.08 to 0.24. Across both rounds, Kendall's W coefficients ranged from 0.168 to 0.248. The weights of first-level indicators of basic knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer, primary prevention of cervical cancer literacy, secondary prevention of cervical cancer literacy, and tertiary prevention of cervical cancer literacy were 0.257, 0.249, 0.251, and 0.243, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

We have developed the first tertiary prevention-based, comprehensive evaluation index system for cervical cancer literacy among Chinese women, which will provide theoretical support for cervical cancer prevention and health education programs.

Recommended Interventions to Improve Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Uptake among Adolescents: A Review of Quality Improvement Methodologies

BACKGROUND

Routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake continues to be suboptimal since its recommendation in 2006 for girls and in 2011 for boys. This paper aims to review published quality improvement (QI) methodologies on interventions to improve HPV vaccine uptake among adolescents.

METHODS

Science Direct and Scopus databases were searched for QI initiatives evaluating the effect of multimodal interventions to improve HPV vaccination rates (initiation and/or completion of series) among adolescents. Studies that included an outcome of interest among adolescents aged 10 to 18 years old were included. Two investigators worked independently to screen for potential articles and a designated investigator extracted data on study characteristics and evaluated the outcomes.

RESULTS

A preliminary search yielded a total of 523 articles and 13 were included in the final analysis. Common strategies were provider-specific (i.e., webinar, telementoring, train-the-trainer approach) and patient- and/or parent-specific interventions (i.e., reminder emails, phone calls and text messages, social events), with an emphasis on education and knowledge empowerment. System-level interventions such as policy changes and revised protocols were less commonly prescribed despite being associated with a more significant weight on the overall outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Creative, sustainable, and economical multilevel interventions that focus not only on provider training and public education but also incorporate local policies and system enhancements can substantially improve HPV vaccination coverage among adolescents.

Female students' perspectives on cervical cancer screening inclusion in pre-admission university requirements in Ghana

Cervical cancer is a huge contributor to cancer-related deaths and the commonest gynecological cancerous growth among women globally. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that cervical cancer incidence and mortality could be reduced through early diagnosis. Regardless of the accessibility of cervical cancer screening in Ghana, low reports of cervical screening had been recorded among female students and women in Ghana. The study objectives were to explore.Female students' opinions on the inclusion of cervical cancer screening in the pre-university admission screening requirement in Ghana. The facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening among female University students.Qualitative exploratory-descriptive design was employed for the purpose of this study. The target population was female students in a public university in Ghana who were purposively selected. Content analysis was employed for the data analysis. In all, 30 female students were selected to engage in face-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Two categories and seven sub-categories were generated from the study analysis. It was interesting to know that majority 20 (66.66%) of the students supported adding CCS to the preadmission screening requirement with few refuting it. Others also recommended compulsory screening as a means of enhancing screening practices. The reasons for refusing this proposal by a few 10 (33.3%) of the participants were it being burdensome, time-consuming, and capital intensive. Other reasons for refusing it were sexual inactiveness following the screening, fear of discomfort, and the screening results. In conclusion, the study found that students were willing to undergo CCS if made mandatory for admission and suggested it be included in pre-admission screening requirements to encourage more Ghanaian women to participate. As CCS is effective in reducing cervical cancer incidence and burden, the proposal of including it in pre-university screening should be considered to increase uptake.

Knowledge and perceptions regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and willingness to receive HPV vaccination among university students in a north-eastern city in Turkey

BACKGROUND

For a HPV vaccination program to be successful, it is important that the target population has sufficient knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccines. The aim of this study was to evaluate HPV-related knowledge levels among students at a university in northern Turkey, to assess vaccination willingness, and to determine factors associated with HPV-related knowledge.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 824 (93.1%) students studying at 16 different faculties. The study population was identified through the proportional stratified sampling method. Data were collected through a questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics and the HPV Knowledge Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify factors that may be associated with knowledge scores.

RESULTS

43.6% of the students had never heard of HPV, 50.6% of them had never heard of HPV screening tests or HPV vaccination. Only 2.7% of the students were vaccinated against HPV and 15.7% were willing to receive HPV vaccination. Awareness of HPV and willingness to receive vaccination were found to be higher among women, while previous experience with sexual intercourse was higher in men (p < 0.05). The mean HPV knowledge score was quite low (6.74 ± 7.13 out of 29 points). The studying in a field related to health sciences, being a senior student, intending to be vaccinated, being a woman, having had sex were found to be associated with high knowledge levels (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Educational programmes should be developed to increase university students' knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine.

Knowledge and Perceptions of Greek Students about Human Papilloma Virus, Vaccination and Cervical Cancer Screening

INTRODUCTION

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer; the level of HPV-related knowledge among young students remains however questionable. The purpose of the present study was to investigate knowledge pertaining to HPV, cervical cancer screening, and vaccination among students in the Nursing Department and Department of Social Work of the Hellenic Mediterranean University of Crete, Greece.

METHODS

This was a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study involving 371 first-year and third-year students of the two Departments. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analysis was performed to examine factors associated with knowledge related to HPV, cervical cancer screening, and HPV vaccination.

RESULTS

Only 22.1% of students knew all the ways of HPV transmission and only 5.9% knew the whole spectrum of cancers that HPV could cause. The vaccination rate for HPV was 33.7%. The majority of students used the Internet as the main source of information (62.3%). Students' sociodemographic characteristics, including age, marital status, and Department of studies were associated with knowledge about HPV.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study highlights knowledge gaps and indicates the need for thorough health education strategies on HPV, targeting families and young people.

Risk factors of cervical cancer among ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province, China: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer is a common malignant tumor of the female reproductive system in the world, which is a serious threat to women's life and health. According to the latest report, the incidence of cervical cancer is 11.42 per 100 000, and the mortality rate is 3.77 per 100 000 in Yunnan Province, which is still higher than the national average. Although there have been some relevant studies on the risk factors of cervical cancer in recent years, research on ethnic minorities is lacking in Yunnan Province.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze and explore the related risk factors of cervical cancer in women of ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province, to provide the scientific basis for the development of cervical cancer prevention and control strategies and measures in this region.

METHODS

In total 1119 cervical cancer patients diagnosed by histopathology at the Yunnan Cancer Center (Yunnan Cancer Hospital) from January 2010 to December 2019 were selected as the case group. According to the 1:1 matching principle of the case-control study, 1119 patients with nonmalignant tumors of the same nationality, the same hospital, age difference less than 3 years old, were selected as the control group. Univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Basic medical insurance for rural residents (OR = 3.659; P = 0.003), human papilloma virus (HPV) infection (OR = 90.030; P < 0.001) and concurrent reproductive tract infections (OR = 1.992; P = 0.047) were risk factors for cervical cancer. Late first marriage(OR = 0.881; P = 0.032), the number of normal childbirths ≤2 (OR = 0.480, P = 0.033) and contraception (OR = 0.291; P = 0.002) were positive factors for cervical cancer.

CONCLUSION

The high incidence of cervical cancer in Yunnan minority women is the result of many factors: HPV infection is the highest risk factor for cervical cancer, women with reproductive tract infections and basic medical insurance for rural residents have a higher risk for cervical cancer; Late first marriage, the number of deliveries ≤2 and contraception are positive factors for cervical cancer.

Knowledge, attitudes, and perception toward human papillomavirus among health profession students: A cross-sectional study in King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences

BACKGROUND

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the major risk factor for cervical cancer (CC) in women of reproductive age. Despite advances in treatment and prevention of CC by HPV vaccination, very few women utilize them because of a lack of awareness about HPV.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted this cross-sectional study among Health Professions Students (HPS) at King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah. Data were collected using a predesigned and validated study questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitude, and perception of HPS toward HPV.

RESULTS

A total of 580 HPS responded to the survey; 128 (22.1%) were male, while 452 (77.9%) were female with the mean age ± standard deviation 20.36 ± 1.74 years. There was no significant difference between males and females related to screening of HPV and CC (82.8%; 82.3%). A minority (30.3%) of participants thought that HPV infection leads to CC, while 38.3% did not know about it. Furthermore, knowledge about HPV screening and vaccination was poor.

CONCLUSIONS

Students from the college of medicine had more knowledge and awareness about HPV (34.9%, P < 0.001). Thus, it is important to implement effective education programs, curricular activities, and awareness campaigns for health professions to augment the learning process effectively.

Cervical Cancer and Its Screening: Assessing the Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception among Health and Allied Students

Background. Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancers affecting women. It being preventable, a robust and effective national education cum screening program is the key to curb its increasing incidence. Objectives. This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the knowledge, awareness, and perceptions (KAP) towards CC etiology, its signs and symptoms and risk factors among Health Professions Students’ (HPSs) in King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah Campus. Methods. Data was collected using predesigned and validated study questionnaire. The respondents’ KAP were compared across gender, colleges, and levels of education. Data analysis was done using SPSS v 20.0 (IBM Corporation) at 95% CI. Results. A total of 580 HPS responded to the survey, 128 (22.1%) were males, while 452 (77.9%) were females with the mean   age ± SD 20.36 ± 1.74 years. Although 70% of the respondents had heard about CC, but only 27.9% and 18.6% knew that CC is common among women and it is transmissible, respectively. Additionally, the knowledge of relationship between viral infection and vaccination was also dismal (34.1%) and only 18.6% of the students had knowledge that CC was a transmissible disease. Interestingly, students from college of medicine had more knowledge and awareness about CC ( p < 0.05 ). Conclusions. Since HPSs had considerable low knowledge about CC, we identify the dire need to implement an effective education programs, curricular activities, and awareness campaigns for HPSs as well as general population to augment the learning process effectively.

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

Context:

College students worldwide have low levels of knowledge on human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases, highlighting the lack of awareness about HPV infection. To date, no study has examined the level of knowledge of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine in the northern region of Saudi Arabia.

Aim:

This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge of cervical cancer and its risk factors, as well as HPV vaccine acceptance among female students in Saudi Arabia enrolled in health colleges.

Methods:

A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted using a valid and reliable self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 966 female students enrolled at the University of Hail, northern region of Saudi Arabia, with a response rate of 83.5%. The main outcome measure was the identification of the knowledge gap pertaining to HPV infection and its prophylactic vaccine.

Results:

The findings highlighted a lack of knowledge about cervical cancer, Pap smears, and HPV vaccine among most female university students. The knowledge score positively correlated to the duration of education. Students enrolled in applied medical science and medical colleges showed significantly higher knowledge scores, as did students in their senior academic years. Vaccine uptake barriers included concerns about its side effects and a lack of information.

Conclusions:

Our findings can be used to formulate effective future awareness programs in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. A larger number of educational programs are required to enlighten Saudi women about cervical cancer and its prophylactic vaccine, including the benefits of screening programs and prevention strategies.

Knowledge and Behavior of University Students toward Human Papillomavirus and Vaccination

Objectives:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and attitude of university students toward HPV infection and vaccine prevention in Turkey.

Methods:

A total of 1563 female and male university students participated in the study. The study design was descriptive and cross-sectional. The study included students enrolled in the departments of faculties and vocational schools.

Results:

In total, 16.8% of students stated that they had heard of HPV. There was a statistically significant relationship between the mean awareness of HPV and different variables, such as age, gender, marital status, family history of cancer, and conversation about sexual matters (P < 0.01). As the age of the students increased, the chance of hearing about HPV also increased. Of all the students, 1.5% took HPV vaccination. Furthermore, 87.7% of the female students stated that they had heard of cervical cancer.

Conclusions:

The depth of knowledge among Turkish university students toward cervical cancer, HPV infection, and vaccination was inadequate. It is important to provide educational and counseling services by nurses to make university students aware of HPV infection and vaccination.

Revisiting knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among female university students in Hong Kong

Despite cervical cancer can be preventable by HPV vaccination, little is known on its associated factors among young females in Hong Kong. This study aimed to investigate the present situation regarding the self-reported knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and to examine their associated factors among female university students in Hong Kong. 195 respondents were recruited to complete a self-administered questionnaire from two local universities through convenience sampling. 8.2% respondents indicated that family doctors as sources of knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination. 59.0% of the sample identified more than four knowledge items, 82.6% thought that HPV vaccines can effectively prevent cervical cancer and 47.2% received HPV vaccination. Regression analyses found those at older age, thought that they might be infected by HPV and received HPV would have a higher level of knowledge. Those who knew HPV is sexually transmitted, thought may be infected by HPV and received HPV vaccination would have positive attitude on HPV vaccination. Those at older ages, knew their university provided discounted vaccination for female students, and were not afraid of the side effects were associated with HPV vaccination. Family doctors should take a more prominent role in disseminating accurate and precise information. Advocacies should be emphasised on the risk of HPV as a sexually transmitted disease and the availability of discounted and safe HPV vaccines in tertiary educational institutions to increase the uptake rate of HPV vaccines for first-year and non-health major university students.

Impact of an HPV Education and Vaccination Campaign among Canadian University Students

BACKGROUND

Uptake of HPV vaccination among university students remains low despite risky sexual practices and increased prevalence of high-risk HPV genotypes. The study objective was to determine the level of knowledge related to HPV and cervical cancer among university students and to subsequently develop a targeted education and vaccination campaign to increase uptake.

METHODS

Phase I was a pilot project in which participants were recruited as part of Cervical Cancer Awareness Week 2015 at two universities, one site immediately offering vaccination and the other not. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect demographic information from participants and evaluate their baseline knowledge related to HPV and the risks of cervical cancer, in addition to determining barriers to vaccination and future willingness to be vaccinated. Data was compiled and analyzed using descriptive statistics of means and percentages. In phase II, which followed 1 year after, a targeted education and vaccination campaign was designed based on lessons learned from phase I, and vaccination uptake was reevaluated after 1 year.

RESULTS

In phase I, 56 participants responded to a questionnaire related to HPV knowledge and cervical cancer. Among these, 29 students were vaccinated in a 2-day resident-run clinic. Overall, 63% felt they were not at risk of cervical cancer, though 88% knew HPV was the cause of cervical cancer. The three barriers identified to previous vaccination were lack of access to a doctor or a nurse (25%), financial reasons (25%), and low self-perceived risk (7%). There was a 50% three-dose completion rate in phase I. Based on this information, the education campaign in phase II was expanded in the subsequent year through social media, email communication, information booths, and individual solicitation. A total of 151 students were approached for individual solicitation and education. Among these, 64 students were vaccinated on site, including five men. Most importantly, there were 18 walk-ins resulting directly from the education initiatives and person-to-person solicitation. Subsequently, in 2016, 502 students were vaccinated at the McGill student health clinic and 455 at Concordia University.

CONCLUSION

HPV vaccination rates in university students are readily increased through educational campaigns, of which person-to-person solicitation proved to be the most fruitful in this study. Identifying barriers to vaccination can guide future initiatives to maximize impact.

Development and testing of the questionnaire CEC-61: Knowledge about cervical cancer in Chilean adolescents

Despite a clear association between human papillomavirus and cervical cancer, knowledge in adolescent populations regarding the disease and methods for its detection and prevention is deficient. The aim of this study was to develop and test a new questionnaire concerning knowledge on cervical cancer. An instrument was developed and validated to measure knowledge in 226 Chilean adolescents between April and June 2011. Content validity, construct validity, and reliability analysis of the instrument were performed. The new, validated instrument, called CEC-61 (Conocimientos en Cancer Cérvicouterino-61 items/Knowledge in Cervical Cancer-61 items), contains nine factors and 61 items. The new questionnaire explained 81% of the variance with a reliability of 0.96. The assessment of knowledge with a valid and reliable instrument is the first step in creating interventions for a population and to encourage appropriate preventive behavior. CEC-61 is highly reliable and has a clear factorial structure to evaluate knowledge in nine domains related to cervical cancer disease, cervical cancer risk, papilloma virus infection, the Papanicolaou test, and the papilloma virus vaccine.

Perceived Risk of Cervical Cancer and Barriers to Screening among Secondary School Female Teachers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia

Background:

No previous studies had addressed the perceived risk of cervical cancer (CC) and its influence on screening practices and perceived barriers in Saudi Arabia.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 506 randomly selected Saudi female secondary school teachers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia to assess their level of knowledge about risk factors and signs of CC in relation to perceived risk and to characterize CC screening compliance using a self-administered questionnaire.

Results:

Of the included female Saudi teachers, 65.4% and 63.4% were considered less-knowledgeable about CC risk factors and early signs and symptoms respectively. Only 17.2% reported being previously examined for CC. The majority of participants perceived themselves to be at an average or below average risk of CC. Residing in urban areas was the strongest predictor of CC screening (Odds ratio ‘OR’= 3.39; 95% confidence intervals ‘CI= 1.76-6.46; P=0.001). Awareness of risk factors was significantly associated with higher awareness of signs of CC (OR 2.5; 95% CI=, P=0.001). Exploratory factor analysis showed that personal fears (of screening being embarrassing) was the major factor that hindered CC screening with a high loading eigenvalue of 4.392, explaining 30.8% of the barriers toward utilization, followed by health care related factors.

Conclusion:

Secondary school teachers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia showed low perceived risk, poor awareness about risk factors, signs and symptoms of CC and limited uptake of screening practices. This underlines the need for education programs on CC targeting this group.

Knowledge regarding early detection of cancer among romanian women having relatives with cancer

Cancers can be detected in early stages through awareness of suspicious symptoms or by specific actions undertaken by individuals or participation in medical checks or screening programmes. The present research had three objectives: to assess the knowledge of Romanian women who have relatives with cancer with regard to cancer symptoms and detection methods; to identify socio-demographics factors influencing their level of knowledge; provide information regarding the attitudes of women from the study regarding medical help-seeking in case of any symptom which might be associated with cancer. This cross-sectional study was performed in an oncological hospital from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It involved 160 women aged 18-70 years, who had relatives with cancer. An anonymous questionnaire was filled in by the participants. The results showed that around 10% of the study sample recognized all the 8 listed symptoms associated with cancer and all the 7 listed methods for cancer detection. The results of the linear regression analyses show that the level of knowledge regarding both symptoms and methods for detection was higher among younger women (B=-0.390, p<0.01, respectively B=-0.260; p<0.01), among those living in urban areas (B=0.872, p<0.01, respectively B=0.676; p<0.01) and those having higher educational level (B=0.883, p<0.001, respectively B=0.536; p<0.001). The majority of the participants agreed with the importance of looking for medical help within weeks up to one month in case that a symptom which might be associated with cancer was observed. The study underlines the necessity that much more information should be given to women who have relatives with cancer about what they can do to detect cancer in an early stage. This is especially needed for older women, women living in rural areas and women having a lower educational level.

Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about cervical cancer and human papilloma virus vaccination with related factors in Turkish university students

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to determine knowledge, attitudes and believes about cervical cancer and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination with related factors in Turkish university students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This descriptive and cross sectional study was conducted between June-July 2013 in Hitit University located in Corum, a rural area to the East of Ankara. The population consisted of 550 university students who were training in first and last year from Faculties of Economics, Theology and Health. We reached 463 volunteer students without selection. The study of data was collected with a 44 item questionaire covering socio-demographic features, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about cervical cancer, HPV and vaccination. Also for this study ethic committee report was taken from Bozok University. Data were evaluated with the SPSS 17.0 programme using the Ki kare test with P<0.05 accepted as statistically significant.

RESULTS

It was seen that there was a statistically significant variation between classrooms and departments of students with knowledge about cervical cancer and human papilloma virus and vaccine (p<0.001; p<0.01; p<0.05). Also we found low attitudes to thinking about taking HPV vaccination of girls and their children in the future.

CONCLUSIONS

In light of the study findings; it was concluded that knowledge levels, beliefs and attitudes of the university students about cervical cancer, HPV infection and HPV vaccination were low.

Perception of human papillomavirus infection, cervical cancer and HPV vaccination in North Indian population

BACKGROUND

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) -associated cervical cancer is the second-most common cancer in women worldwide but it is the most frequent gynaecological cancer and cancer associated death in India women. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge about cervical cancer, HPV, HPV vaccine, HPV vaccine acceptance among school and undergraduates students and their parent's perception about acceptance of HPV vaccine in Northern part of India (Delhi and NCR regions).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A qualitative questionnaire based survey among 2500 urban/rural students aged 12-22 years was conducted.

RESULTS

Overall, a low frequency (15%) of HPV and cervical cancer awareness was observed in students and their parents. However, the awareness was much higher in females belonging to urban setup compared to boys with a perception that HPV causes cervical cancer in women only. Additionally, only (13%) participants who were aware of cervical cancer and HPV) were willing to accept HPV vaccination. Apparently, parents of female students were two times more willing to accept HPV vaccination for their ward than male students (p<0.001; OR 95%CI = 2.09 (1.58-2.76).

CONCLUSION

Cervical cancer and HPV awareness among school, undergraduate students and also to their parents was found to be very low in this part of India. The level of awareness and education appears to be insignificant determinants in rural compared to urban setup. Better health education will be needed to maximize public awareness for cervical cancer prevention.

Human Papillomavirus vaccination acceptability among female university students in South Africa

BACKGROUND

The objectives of this present study were to assess the awareness of cervical cancer and its risk factors among female undergraduates in South Africa, and to determine the their level of acceptability of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2013 among 440 full time undergraduate female students.

RESULTS

Of those students who never had sex (n=163), 96 (58.9%) had ever heard of cervical cancer and only 12 students (12.5%) knew that HPV causes cervical cancer. More than a third (35.4%) of the students correctly said that sexual intercourse before age of 18 years is a risk factor for cervical cancer and 55.2% of the students knew about the Pap smear test which is used for screening cervical cancer. The majority (77.3%) were willing to accept HPV vaccination. Results revealed that students who knew about the Pap smear test, and were aware that having multiple sex partners, sexual intercourse before the age of 18 years, smoking and having contracted any STDs are risk factors for cervical cancer were more likely to accept HPV vaccination compared to other groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The general knowledge of South African female university students about cervical cancer is not sufficient but they have positive attitudes toward getting vaccinated with the HPV vaccine.

Creating and field-testing the questionnaire for the assessment of knowledge about cervical cancer and its prevention among schoolgirls and female students

Objective

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire used to assess the level of general knowledge about cervical cancer, its primary and secondary prevention, and to identify sources of information about the disease among schoolgirls and female students.

Methods

The questionnaire development process was divided into four phases: generation of issues; construction of a provisional questionnaire; testing of the provisional questionnaire for acceptability and relevance; field-testing, which aimed at ensuring reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Field-testing included 305 respondents of high school female Caucasian students, who filled out the final version of the questionnaire.

Results

After phase 1, a list of 65 issues concerning knowledge about cervical cancer and its prevention was generated. Of 305, 155 were schoolgirls (mean age±SD, 17.8±0.5) and 150 were female students (mean age±SD, 21.7±1.8). The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the whole questionnaire was 0.71 (range for specific questionnaire sections, 0.60 to 0.81). Test-retest reliability ranged from 0.89 to 0.94.

Conclusion

The Cervical-Cancer-Knowledge-Prevention-64 has been successfully developed to measure the level of knowledge about cervical cancer. The results confirm the validity, reliability and applicability of the created questionnaire.

HPV and cervical cancer related knowledge, awareness and testing behaviors in a community sample of female sex workers in China

BACKGROUND

Limited data suggested that the prevalence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) among female sex workers (FSW) is much higher than in the general female population. The current study aimed to examine the HPV and cervical cancer related awareness, knowledge, and behaviors among FSW in China.

METHODS

A total of 360 FSW recruited from entertainment establishments in Beijing completed a self-administered survey including demographics, HPV related knowledge, and health-seeking and cervical cancer preventive behaviors.

RESULTS

Approximately 70.8% of the participants ever heard of cervical cancer, and as few as 22.1% and 13.3% ever heard of HPV and HPV vaccine, respectively. The mean score on a 7-item knowledge scale was 2.2 (SD = 2.4). Less than 10% of FSW perceived any risk of cervical cancer, and only 15.3% ever had a Pap smear. About 40.8% of FSW would accept HPV vaccine if it is free, and 21.8% would accept it even with a charge. Multivariate regression suggested that women with better knowledge of cervical cancer were more likely to have a Pap smear (aOR = 1.35); women who had tested for HIV were 11 times more likely to have a Pap smear, and women who had worked longer in commercial sex (aOR = 1.01) and had regular health check-ups (aOR = 1.95) were more likely to accept HPV vaccine.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study underscores the needs for effective cervical cancer prevention programs for FSW in China and other resource-limited countries. We specifically call for cervical cancer and HPV knowledge and awareness programs and regular screening as well as HPV risk-reduction programs for these vulnerable women.