Knowledge and acceptance of HPV vaccination among Lagos students

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for 99.7% of cervical cancers, the fourth most common cancer in women. The introduction of a vaccine for HPV has been one of the most effective public health interventions for combating infectious diseases. Aims: To investigate the knowledge and acceptance of HPV vaccination among secondary school students in Lagos State, Nigeria Methods: The descriptive study was conducted among 500 male and female students from selected public and private schools located in Education District 1 of Lagos State between June and July 2016. A 44-item adapted questionnaire covering sociodemographic data; knowledge of cervical cancer, HPV and the HPV vaccine; and acceptance of HPV vaccine was used. Statistical analyses were both descriptive and inferential using the SPSS version 20. Findings: The mean age of respondents was 14.4±1.7 years. Students' overall knowledge about cervical cancer, HPV and the HPV vaccine was generally poor, as only 39.8% had good knowledge of the subject matter. Students in private schools (P=0.005), those in their mid-teens (P=0.000), female students (P=0.047) and students whose mothers had up to tertiary education (P=0.005) had better knowledge. Acceptance of the HPV vaccine was poor (40.0%) but this was found to increase (66.8%) if the vaccine were offered for free. Conclusions: It was recommended that strategies should be put in place to develop age-appropriate and socially and culturally sensitive educational interventions to improve HPV vaccine knowledge and acceptance. Significant uptake of the HPV vaccine will eventually reduce the future morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer.