Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude on HPV Infection, Vaccine and Cervical Cancer Among the School Students in Rajasthan (North India)

Introduction - Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude on HPV infection, Vaccine and Cervical Cancer among the school Students in Rajasthan. Cervical cancer is the second commonest cancer among women in rural India. Screening and prophylactic vaccinations against HPV infection bear the potential to reduce the burden of cervical cancer and has been proven a cost-effective method. Limited data is available about awareness and knowledge on HPV infections and vaccination from India . Therefore, this study tries to provide an insight into the awareness and knowledge about HPV infection and vaccination among students of 15 to 30 years of age. Methodology- A cross-sectional study was conducted among school students (6th to 12th) in Ajmer and Jaipur district of Rajasthan from January to December 2023 for students. Data were collected using validated self-administered questionnaires, which consisted of knowledge and perceptions about HPV infection and willingness to get vaccination when available. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution, frequency, and percentage of variables. All analyses were performed with two-sided tests, and a value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results -Among 1140 participants only 22.3 % ever heard about the HPV virus. (77.7%) were unaware of HPV, and only 19.5% had heard of the vaccine. Only 17.5% were aware that HPV causes cervical cancer Conclusion- The limited knowledge about cervical cancer and its vaccine among students highlights a critical gap in awareness and education. Addressing knowledge gaps can lead to increased vaccine uptake and reduced disease burden.