Abstract
Context: Approximately 60,000 women in India die annually from cervical cancer. India also has high rates of head and neck cancers (HNCs), with most patients presenting with advanced disease. Uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which can prevent both cervical cancer and HNCs, is low in India. Methods and Material: Study setting was Government Medical College, Mysore and it was a Cross-sectional study. Between January to March 2018, a web-based self-administered questionnaire was completed by 498 medical students in Mysore, India. Descriptive statistics were conducted using SPSS. Result: Only 8% of female students and no male students were vaccinated against HPV, and most did not feel susceptible to HPV. Male students were more likely than female students to believe that HPV vaccination can encourage youth to become sexually active (35% vs. 15%; p<0.001). Furthermore, knowledge regarding HPV vaccination for preventing HNCs was no higher among 4th versus 1st year medical students. Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs favourable toward HPV vaccination improved with years of study. Conclusion: Medical education that discusses the full range of uses of HPV vaccination for cancer prevention and improves comfort with topics related to adolescent sexuality may increase future provider recommendations.
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