Publication:

Knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer prevention and HPV vaccination among medical and nursing students in a tertiary care hospital

Background This study was done to assess the level of knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer and its prevention among medical and nursing students.

Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted during 2022 in a tertiary care hospital in Chennai. The study included 407 subjects; 224 medical students, and 183 nursing students and consent was obtained from each participant prior to the study. A questionnaire survey was used to assess their knowledge on cervical cancer and its prevention.

Results Out of the 407 participants, 95.5% of the medical students and 30.6% of the nursing students knew that HPV virus causes cervical cancer. Medical students had more knowledge on risk factors. 84.38% of medical students and 43.72% of nursing students were aware that vaccine is available for the prevention of cervical cancer. Overall nursing students had limited knowledge on cervical cancer and its prevention. 51.79% of the medical students and 27.87% of the nursing students acquired their knowledge about HPV vaccine through social media. The uptake of HPV vaccine was very low among both medical and nursing students.

Conclusions The results of our study demonstrate that there is a need for creating more awareness about cervical cancer and its prevention among medical and nursing students.