Awareness, knowledge and attitudes of human papillomavirus (HPV) among private university students- Malaysia perspective

Abstract

Objective: Assess and analyse the awareness, knowledge, and attitudes of university students regarding HPV and its vaccine. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed with questionnaire serving as the research instrument. A total of 425 university students were recruited voluntarily. Thirteen assessable questions were analysed to reveal the mean total knowledge score of HPV and its vaccine. Both descriptive and statistical approach were employed to analyse the research outcomes. Results: Students were moderately aware as 59.8% and 49.6% have heard about HPV and its vaccine, respectively. The mean total knowledge score was 5.26 ± 3.10 out of 13 which was found to be moderately knowledgeable. Female (N= 235) have a significantly higher mean knowledge score in comparison to male (N= 190) at 5.58 ± 2.80 versus 4.87 ± 3.40, respectively (p < 0.05), likely due to the disease profiles favouring female. As hypothesised, health-related school students (N= 171) outperformed other schools (N= 254) at 7.00 ± 2.95 versus 4.10 ± 2.62, respectively (p < 0.001). In general, the score depends on participant's gender and educational background (χ2= 25.426, peducational talk refinement are therefore essential in controlling the disease by spreading awareness.