Abstract:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with the huge burden of cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of female undergraduate students towards HPV infection and the HPV vaccine. A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to study 204 female undergraduate students selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22.0 with a statistical significance set at P ≤ 0.05. The minimum and maximum ages of respondents were 17 and 40 years with a mean± SD of 22.4±3.4 years. About two-thirds of the students had a monthly income of <#18,000. Only 38% of the students had good knowledge while more than half of the students (55.0%) had negative attitudes towards HPV and HPV vaccines. The majority (94.5%) had the attitude attributable to lack of awareness, (18.0%) due to the number of doses required, (26.5%) due to perceived reason for increased sexual promiscuity, and having one or no sexual partner (25.5%) respectively. A significantly higher proportion (69.2%, p=0.01) of students from other ethnic groups had good knowledge of HPV and HPV infection. Similarly, a significantly higher proportion of students with good knowledge (50.5%, p=0.001) were from science-based faculty. However, a significantly higher proportion of students having a positive attitude towards HPV and HPV vaccine were in their final college year (68.8%, p=0.02). The knowledge and attitude of the undergraduate students towards HPV infection and vaccine were suboptimal. The government and relevant stakeholders should intensify social mobilization activities on the importance and benefits of the HPV vaccine and the prevention of HPV infection.

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