Evaluation of Awareness of Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer among Female Undergraduates of a Private Mission University in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Human papillomavirus infection is most prevalent in the younger population and causes cervical cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In 2018, cervical cancer was estimated to be 570,000 cases and 311,000 deaths; it ranked as the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death in women. Cervical cancer can be prevented through health education and vaccination against HPV. This study aimed at evaluating the level of awareness of human papillomavirus and cervical cancer among female undergraduate students of Babcock University, Ogun state of Nigeria. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted among 310 female undergraduates of Babcock University in Nigeria from January to April 2019. The selection technique was a multistage random sampling method. The data collection was done using structured and self-administered questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) statistics for windows version 25 and were presented in summary charts and frequency tables. P-values less than or equal to 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Of 310 female students, 296 (95.5%) were aware of HPV infections. The majority, 215 (69.4%) of the students knew that HPV is sex-