A Study to Assess Knowledge Regarding Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine among Nursing Students

Background Healthcare workers, especially the nursing students, can play a significant role in providing the recommendations to prevent or manage cervical cancer CC caused by human papilloma virus HPV . However, it is often observed that the awareness about the knowledge of CC and HPV is limited in the nursing students, who are part of the front line support for managing the patients. Objective To evaluate the knowledge and acceptance of CC and HPV vaccine among nursing students. Methodology In this cross sectional study, 90 nursing students of the age group 18 years were included. Their knowledge regarding cervical cancer risk factors, screening, and prevention was explored through a questionnaire. The acceptability of HPV vaccine among girls was also assessed. Descriptive statistics, chi square test and regression method were used to analyze the study data with p 0.05 considered as statistically significant. Results Knowledge regarding cervical cancer and HPV vaccine was 2.40 times more in B.Sc nursing third year subjects than compared to B.Sc nursing 2nd year. Proportion of subjects willing for vaccination in future was high among females. Age and education were the only variables found to be significant after application of logistic regression model. Conclusion The study suggests that the overall awareness and knowledge about CC, HPV and HPV vaccination was high among college students and associated with sex, education, and family background. This study inferred that a vast majority of subjects were aware of CC, but the knowledge of risk factors and prevention techniques was lacking. Gurpreet Brar "A Study to Assess Knowledge Regarding Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine among Nursing Students" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-7 | Issue-6 , December 2023, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd61243.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/medicine/nursing/61243/a-study-to-assess-knowledge-regarding-cervical-cancer-and-hpv-vaccine-among-nursing-students/gurpreet-brar