Objectives: To study awareness about HPV vaccine and to assess the acceptability and hesitancy regarding HPV vaccine.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted among first year to last year nursing students studying in a rural medical college, Ambajogai. A pretested self-administered structured questionnaire was used for collecting data. Information regarding sociodemographic characteristics, awareness, acceptability, willingness to take the vaccine and spreading information to community were interviewed and recorded. Study period was from 1st July 2022 to 31st August 2022.
Results: Out of 180 students, study carried among 169 those who gave consent and presented at time of study. Among them 27% were 15- 20 years of age group and 73% were in the age group 20-25 years. Most of them belongs to middle (43.7%) and upper middle (36.6%) socioeconomic class. Out of total participants 22.5% were males and 77.5 %were females. 7.7% were married and 92.3% were unmarried. 27.8% were heard about HPV and HPV vaccine.
Conclusion: This study has indicated that very few participants were aware about HPV vaccine. Hesitancy can be reduced by providing proper knowledge about safety and side effects of HPV vaccine.
