Preparedness of Young Girls for Prevention of Cervical Cancer and Strategy to introduce the HPV Vaccine

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates remain high in developing country due to low levels of awareness on preventive measures. The main study objective was to sensitize the young girls on the prevention of cervical cancer. STUDY DESIGN: Quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design was used. METHODS: A total of 240 young girls enrolled and 60 were selected randomly for the sensitization program. The preparedness for prevention of cervical cancer was assessed through structured preparedness criteria and perception toward vaccination was ascertained through rating scale. RESULTS: Changes in knowledge level and intention to be vaccinated and for developing positive attitude to be screened in future were assessed using paired t-tests and found to be statistically significant. There is been an improvement in knowledge score noticed from pretest to posttest. The greatest improvements were observed in responses to questions on knowledge on symptoms (60%) and prevention (88%) that is maximum responded vaginal bleeding is the most common symptoms of cervical cancer and avoiding early sexual intercourse is the preventive measures of cancer cervix. Out of the 60 girls, 52 (86%) shown their agreement for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, 35 (58.33%) took the HPV vaccine as a preventive measure. CONCLUSION: Study concludes that periodical sensitization through educational intervention may act as a cascade for girls and help them to be more aware about the preventive aspects of cervical cancer.