Knowledge, Attitudes and Uptake of Human Papillomavirus Vaccines Among Secondary School Students in Ibadan North, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to critically assess the knowledge, attitudes and uptake of Human Papilloma Virus Vaccines among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was employed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to analyse the data. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyse socioeconomic data and research topics. Inferential statistics, Chi-square at a significance threshold of 0.05, were employed to evaluate three established null hypotheses.

Results: Findings of the study revealed that 72.8% were between 15-17 years with a mean age of 15.56±1.36. A majority (77.5%) of the respondents were from Yoruba stock, and nearly 68.9% were Christians. Those reported to have good knowledge of HPV vaccine were 26.3%, and almost 55.9% had positive attitude towards HPV vaccine. About 6.8% had taken HPV vaccine. Knowledge (p<0.000) and attitude (p<0.034) were significantly associated with uptake of HPV vaccine.

Conclusion: Based on the outcomes of this study, it was determined that there was a low degree knowledge and a high positive attitude towards HPV vaccination, as well as a low uptake of HPV. This recommended that information about HPV and HPV vaccination be made available to raise the level of awareness and uptake of HPV vaccine among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo state.