Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Acceptability and Uptake among Medical and Paramedical Students of a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is expected to reduce the burden of cervical cancer globally. However, acceptability and uptake of this highly effective vaccine is not well known in most Nigerian communities. Objective: The study assessed predictors of HPV vaccine uptake among medical and paramedical students in the study population. Method: A cross-sectional study design was employed and stratified sampling technique used to recruit 310 consenting students in Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho, Nigeria; a Christian health institution. A pre-tested self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out. Results: Respondents’ mean age was 21 (±3.5) years, 24.2% were adolescents, 21.0% of them knew HPV vaccination prevents cervical cancer, 61.8% knew vaccination should commence before sexual debut. Meanwhile, 38.0% and 51.0% of them had good knowledge on and positive attitude to the vaccine. Only 14.0% of the respondents had been vaccinated against HPV. There was increased odds of HPV vaccination among female respondents (OR=1.56; CI=1.26-1.31), respondents with positive attitude (OR=1.16; CI=0.11-0.22) and those who had engaged in unprotected sex (OR=0.19, CI=0.45-0.85). Acceptability rate was 73.9% but ignorance of availability of the vaccine in Nigeria and its high cost were among the main reasons for reduced vaccination uptake. Conclusion: The knowledge and practice of most of our respondents on HPV vaccination were low but acceptability rate was high. Most respondents were happy to recommend the vaccine to their loved ones.