Publication:

Assessment of knowledge and attitude of medical and nursing students towards screening for cervical carcinoma and HPV vaccination in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women and infection with high risk human papilloma virus (HPV) is a pre-requisite for cervical cancer. The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge regarding cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination among medical and nursing staff.

Methods Four hundred participants; 200 MBBS students, 120 BSc nursing students and 80 staff nurses answered a standardized questionnaire which was analysed.

Results Majority of the MBBS students correctly believed that cervical cancer was not the most common cancer in females and 77.5% believed that HPV is identified in more than 50% cases. Around 80% of the respondents knew that HPV is transmitted sexually and could be transmitted during pregnancy and can affect both males and females. More than 80% of the staff nurses answered correctly that HPV could be transmitted by needle sharing and 76% believed that the infection could be symptomless. More than 80% of the participants were aware that a vaccine is available against HPV but only 5.5% were vaccinated. Though the knowledge was there but several gaps were noticed regarding HPV vaccination, the major concerns being safety, efficacy and availability of the vaccine.

Conclusions HPV is a vaccine preventable cancer and for accepting the vaccination the health professionals can play a pivotal role in raising awareness and controlling the disease.