OGO MIMI STEPHANIE

BACKGROUND: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a prevalent sexually transmitted infection with specific high-risk strains associated with cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women in Nigeria. Despite the availability of vaccines like Gardasil and Cervarix, HPV vaccination has yet to be fully integrated into the National Immunization Schedule.Expanding access and coverage is crucial to reducing HPV-related disease burden. This research work gives insight into the importance of HPV vaccination, improving HPV vaccination uptake and its potential impact on public health. OBJECTIVES: This research work assessed the knowledge, uptake, barriers and measures that promote HPV vaccination among undergraduates in the University of Benin. METHODOLOGY:Adescriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 569 respondents from the School of Medicine, University of Benin using stratified sampling technique. Relevant data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The collected data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 26, with level of significance set at p < 0.05.RESULTS: The mean age in this study was 21.29 ± 2.6, with more females 288(50.6%) than males 281(49.4%). Majority (76.8%) had heard of HPV, 69.8% had heard of the HPV vaccine,but only 5% had received it. Significant factors associated with knowledge of the HPV vaccine were gender and academic level, with females (p=0.001), and 200-level students (p<0.001) demonstrating greater awareness. Regarding uptake, age was a significant factor, with respondents aged 16-19 showing better uptake than those aged 20-26 (p=0.005). Key barriers to vaccine uptake were lack of awareness (31.3%), sexual inactivity (20.4%), and logistical issues like inaccessibility of the vaccine (27.4%) and cost (12.5%). Promoting vaccination could be achieved through increased access to vaccines via university health centers (90.7%), incentives (90.0%), and student-led campaigns (84.5%). CONCLUSION: While knowledge of HPV is relatively high, actual vaccine uptake remains very low among undergraduates due to misconception, cost and logistical challenges. Improving vaccination rates require education, logistical support and incentives. Enhanced health campaigns and university-based programs can greatly increase vaccine uptake. Keywords: Human Papillomavirus, HPV vaccine, knowledge, barriers, undergraduates, vaccine uptake