Knowledge, perceptions and acceptability of HPV vaccination among medical students in Chongqing, China.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate medical students' knowledge of HPV and HPV related diseases and assess their attitudes towards HPV vaccination. METHODS A total of 605 medical undergraduates from Chongqing Medical University in China were surveyed using a structured and pretested questionnaire on HPV related knowledge. RESULTS Some 68.9% of the medical students were females, and mean age was 21.6 (±1.00) years. Only 10.6% correctly answered more than 11 out of 14 questions on HPV related knowledge, 71.8% being willing to receive/ advise on HPV vaccination. Female students (OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.53-4.72) and students desiring more HPV education (OR: 4.24; 95% CI: 1.67-10.8) were more willing to accept HPV vaccination. HPV vaccination acceptability was observed to show a positive association with HPV related knowledge. CONCLUSIONS Our survey found low levels of HPV related knowledge and HPV vaccination acceptability among participating medical students. HPV education should be systematically incorporated into medical education to increase awareness of HPV vaccination.