Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40294016›Full record

ArticleWomen's health (London, England)

Determinants of cervical cancer knowledge and barriers to human papillomavirus vaccine uptake among female university students: A cross-sectional study.

Andrew Donkor, Loretta Pokua Osei, Ewura Adwoa Kwafoa Acquaah-Arhin, Pamela Deladem Suka, Doris Kitson-Mills, Alberta Naa Afia Adjei, Evans Ohemeng, Samiratou Ouedraogo, Veronica Millicent Dzomeku

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Article in Women's health (London, England). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Andrew DonkorDepartment of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0002-6073-524X
Loretta Pokua OseiDepartment of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Ewura Adwoa Kwafoa Acquaah-ArhinDepartment of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Pamela Deladem SukaDepartment of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Doris Kitson-MillsDepartment of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Alberta Naa Afia AdjeiDepartment of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Evans OhemengDepartment of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Samiratou OuedraogoOR Tambo Africa Chair Research and Action Against Cancer, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Veronica Millicent DzomekuSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCervical cancer is the second most common female cancer in Ghana. Cervical cancer is preventable through knowledge, vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), screening and treatment of precancerous lesions.

objectiveThis study aimed to assess the determinants of cervical cancer knowledge and barriers to HPV vaccine uptake among female university students in Ghana.

designAn anonymous, online cross-sectional study was conducted from 25 June to 22 September 2024.

methodsThe survey contained questions on demographic characteristics, cervical cancer risk factors, symptoms, HPV vaccination and barriers to vaccine uptake. Binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the factors associated with knowledge of cervical cancer. A

resultsA total of 1662 female university students responded to the online survey. The mean age of the respondents was 21.5 ± 2.03 years. Overall, the prevalence of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer was 60.2%. The least recognised cervical cancer symptom was blood in the stool or urine (58.4%). Respondents who had a steady partner and living together had 3.59 times higher odds of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer compared to respondents who were not dating. Muslim respondents had 2.13 times higher odds of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer compared to Christian. Unvaccinated respondents had 3.85 times higher odds of inadequate knowledge of cervical cancer compared to those who had received the HPV vaccine. More than four-fifths (87.0%) of the respondents indicated that they had not been vaccinated against HPV. The major barriers to HPV vaccine uptake included: inadequate knowledge of the vaccine, fear of side effects, lack of knowledge about the vaccination site, fear of injection and doubts regarding the vaccine's efficacy.

conclusionImproving access to cervical cancer awareness and HPV vaccination among university students is a critical public health goal to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. It is important to promote a free national school-based HPV vaccination programme. Multi-component school-based educational interventions, including traditional methods such as lectures, group discussions and digital tools like web-based educational platforms should be implemented to improve cervical cancer knowledge among university students.

Indexed as

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticePapillomavirus InfectionsPapillomavirus VaccinesPatient Acceptance of Health CareStudentsUterine Cervical NeoplasmsVaccinationAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGhanaHumansSurveys and QuestionnairesUniversitiesYoung AdultPapillomavirus Vaccinescervical cancerGhanaHPVuniversity studentsvaccination

Identifiers

PMID40294016
PMCPMC12038193

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.