Effects of Health Education on Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine Uptake and Knowledge among Adolescent Secondary School Students in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study assessed the impact of health education on HPV vaccine uptake, and knowledge among adolescent secondary school students in Cross River State, Nigeria.Conducted in two phases, it involved a crosssectional survey with 1,015 students to establish baseline knowledge and a quasi-experimental intervention with 388 students from 64 schools.Findings from the cross-sectional phase revealed that 601 (59.2%) students had poor HPV knowledge, while 411 (40.5%) had never received the HPV vaccine.The intervention provided structured educational sessions on HPV transmission, prevention, and vaccination.Post-intervention, HPV knowledge significantly improved from 91 (23.5%) at baseline to 301 (77.6%) (P<0.001), and vaccine uptake increased from 88 (22.7%) to 264 (68.0%) (P<0.001).Wilcoxon Signed Rank and McNemar's tests confirmed these improvements, while logistic regression showed that middle adolescents (AOR =3.11; P < 0.001) and senior secondary students (AOR =5.98; P < 0.001) had significantly better knowledge post-intervention.However, demographic factors did not significantly influence vaccine uptake or perception changes.These findings emphasize the effectiveness of schoolbased health education in improving HPV-related outcomes.The study provides actionable insights for policymakers and healthcare providers to develop targeted health education programs, address barriers to HPV vaccination, and enhance adolescent health.It also lays a foundation for future health promotion initiatives and policy reforms aimed at reducing the burden of HPV-related diseases.