Cervical cancer risk perception and predictors of human papilloma virus vaccine acceptance among female university students in northern Nigeria

Cancer of the cervix is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Although a vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV) is now available, its acceptance among vulnerable women in developing countries is largely unexplored. We studied cervical cancer awareness and HPV vaccine acceptance among 375 female university students in northern Nigeria. A total of 133 participants knew of HPV (35.5%), 202 (53.9%) had heard of cervical carcinoma and 277 (74.0%) were willing to accept HPV vaccination. After adjusting for potential confounders, age (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.3, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.47-6.53); medical education (AOR 3.4, 95% CI, 1.74-6.93); HPV knowledge (AOR 1.8, 95% CI, 1.38-5.41) and awareness of cervical cancer (AOR 2.3, 95% CI, 1.52-5.06) were significant predictors of readiness to accept HPV vaccine. Public health education and appropriate communication strategies should be implemented in advance of large scale vaccine introduction to increase awareness and prevent misconceptions about the HPV vaccine.