Low uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination and cervical cancer screening among female undergraduates of a Nigerian University

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer is a public health problem affecting women all over the world. Persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a key risk factor for the development of cervical cancer. Besides, HPV vaccines and cervical cancer screening have been established as the primary and secondary preventive measures, respectively, yet studies have documented low uptake of these preventive measures. This study was designed to identify factors associated with uptake of HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening among female undergraduates in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study employing a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire to elicit information from 240 female undergraduates on sociodemographics and factors associated with uptake of HPV vaccines and screening for prevention of cervical cancer. The data collected was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Descriptive statistics were used to present data in tables and frequencies. Results: Findings from the study revealed that 80% of the respondents have heard of cervical cancer; however, only 48.3% and 41.7% have information about HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening, respectively. The key factors identified for low uptake of HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening were inadequate information about HPV vaccines (96.7%) and lack of detailed information about cervical cancer screening (94.6%), respectively. However, the least identified factors for low uptake of the primary and secondary preventive measures were some of the respondents considered their age too young to receive HPV vaccines (15%) and lack of time (42.1%) for the uptake of cervical cancer screening. Conclusion: There is a high level of knowledge about cervical cancer, but does not translate to high uptake of the prevention services. Thus, there is a great need to put in place measures to improve the uptake of HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening services among the target population.