Public health awareness towards cervical cancer and hpv vaccination: a cross-sectional study on medical students of central India

Abstract

ackground

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in India with an incidence rate of 18.3% and the second leading

cause of death with a mortality rate of 9.1%. It is a potentially preventable disease if there is adequate vaccination

against HPV and through proper screening and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions.

Objective

This study aims to assess the awareness, attitude, and practices of female undergraduate and postgraduate medical

students of MGM Medical College, Indore regarding cervical cancer and their vaccination status against HPV.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted using a predesigned, validated, and self-administered questionnaire

distributed through google forms after obtaining informed consent from participants. Data was analyzed using

descriptive statistics.

Results

A total of 132 participants responded out of which 79 were undergraduates and 53 were postgraduate residents.

87.1% of them were aware of the risk factors leading to cervical cancer while 53% of them agreed that vaccination

is effective in preventing HPV infection and cervical cancer. We found that 14.4% of the participants were

vaccinated against HPV. Half of the study population strongly agreed that all married women aged between 30-65

years should undergo screening for cervical cancer while only less than one-tenth of them had done prior screening

of the eligible females in their families.

Conclusion

Our study population showed good knowledge of cervical cancer and the role of HPV vaccination as a preventive

measure, but very few of them were vaccinated or had undergone screening themselves. Therefore, this study

highlights the need for more promotion and encouragement of medical students to get themselves vaccinated and

opt for early cancer screening.