In-School Adolescents’ Perspectives on Strategies for Implementation of Cervical Cancer Awareness and Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Uptake in Ibadan, Oyo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71637/tnhj.v25i1.865Keywords:
Cervical cancer, human papillomavirus, HPV vaccination, adolescents, implementation strategiesAbstract
Background: This study investigated health promotion strategies to increase cervical cancer awareness and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake among in-school adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria. The objectives were to assess adolescents' knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV, identify their preferred health promotion strategies for implementation interventions, and examine the factors influencing the adoption of these strategies.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 369 in-school adolescents aged 10-19 years, using a mixed-method approach. Quantitative data were collected via structured questionnaires, while qualitative data were gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) with 8 homogenous groups. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative data.
Results: The mean age of the respondents was 14.69±1.12. The mean knowledge score was 5.48±4.4, with a little above half (51.80%) having poor knowledge. There was a statistically significant difference between knowledge, school category (p=0.000) and age (p=0.002). Strategies for implementation of interventions to promote cervical cancer awareness and HPV vaccination uptake included social media (46.0%), and educational methods, school education (66.4%). Findings from FGD corroborated these results. Availability of HPV vaccines in health facilities (81.2%) and provision of incentives to promote HPV vaccination (82.9%) were factors reported to influence the adoption of suggested strategies.
Conclusion: The results from both qualitative and quantitative studies showed that health promotion strategies like health education in schools, and the use of social media to disseminate information could help to promote awareness of cervical cancer and HPV vaccination among adolescents.
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