Knowledge and Perception on Human Papilloma Virus Infection and Vaccination among Medical Students of a University in Malaysia

AbstractCervical cancer is the third most common malignancy among women worldwide including Malaysia. However, knowledge on the illness still low which resulted in poor attitude towards its prevention. The present study was conducted to determine knowledge and perception on Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection and vaccination among medical students in a university in Malaysia. A cross sectional study was conducted among 120 medical students in a university in Malaysia. A set of questionnaire were distributed to the respondents to gather the data. Descriptive statistics including frequency and percentage for categorical variables and mean (SD) for continuous variables were calculated. Among respondents, 103 (85.8%) and 96 (80.0%) of them had heard about HPV and HPV vaccination program respectively. Mean knowledge score and proportion of intention to receive HPV vaccine was higher among clinical year compared to preclinical year group. Intention to receive HPV vaccination among clinical year and preclinical year group was 78.3% and 50.0% respectively. Being a medical student does not warrant good knowledge and perception on HPV infections and its prevention. Respondents from clinical year group had a better knowledge and higher proportion of intention to receive HPV vaccine