Knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and HPV vaccination: A survey among 961 college students in Hangzhou, China

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is the primary prevention for cervical cancer, which has not yet been added to the planned immunization in our country. However, the attitude and perceptions of college students towards HPV vaccination are unknown. We investigated the knowledge of and attitude towards HPV vaccination and cervical cancer among college students aged 18 years and older. A total of 961 college students in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province voluntarily participated in our study by filling out a self-administered questionnaire on HPV vaccination and knowledge of cervical cancer prevention. The age of all the college students was 24.69 ± 4.59 years, including 394 males (41%) and 567 females (59%). A logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors influencing the injection of the HPV vaccine among 961 college students. A total of 96.15% (924/961) of the college students said they had heard of the HPV vaccine, 84.60% (813/961) of the college students were willing to receive the HPV vaccine, and 56.08% (318/567) of the female college students had HPV vaccination. Logistic regression analysis showed that major, educational level, place of household registration, and mother’s education significantly influenced HPV vaccination (P < .05). Increasing the knowledge and the coverage of HPV vaccine is important for cervical cancer prevention. Adding courses on the HPV vaccine in high schools and colleges, increasing HPV vaccine consultation clinics in community hospitals, developing more HPV vaccines and reducing the costs may be effective measures.