Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine Acceptance Among In-School Female Adolescents: A Comparative Study in Osun- State Nigeria

Authors

  • Adeniran Elizabeth Folasade Department of Community Medicine, UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State.
  • Adejimi Adebola Afolake College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State
  • Bamidele Olayinka Oluwabusola Department of Community Medicine, UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State.
  • Olagunoye Ajibola Olatunji Department of Community Medicine, UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State.
  • Salami Kunle Sarafudeen Department of Community Medicine, UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State.
  • Asekun-Olarinmoye Esther Olufunmilayo Department of Community Medicine, UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State and Department of Community Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi Araba, Lagos State Nigeria.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4314.4

Abstract

Globally, Human papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted infection. It is one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide and is the causal factor in other diseases such as genital warts. Half of the sexually active adolescents are estimated to have HPV infection at one time during their lifetime. Protection against HPV includes abstinence from sex and immunization against the HPV virus with HPV vaccines before an adolescent has any sexual contact with another person. There is a dearth of studies exploring the acceptance of the HPV vaccine among secondary school female adolescents, hence the study aims to identify and compare the

willingness and factors that influence the acceptance of HPV vaccine among in-school female adolescents in rural and urban areas in Osun State. A comparative cross-sectional study of 400 adolescents in rural and urban areas (200 per group) of Osun state utilized the multistage sampling technique. Quantitative data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 25.

The level of acceptance of the HPV vaccine among the respondents is low. In addition, there is a statistically significant difference between the level of acceptance of the HPV vaccine among rural and urban dwellers, with 23% of respondents from urban areas willing to accept the HPV vaccine compared with 17.5% of rural regions (p-value =0.01). Furthermore, (63.0%) of the respondents were from urban areas, and a more significant percentage (72.0%) of the respondents from rural areas were unaware of the HPV vaccine; this difference was statistically significant p= 0.043. 

This study revealed that rural/urban location significantly affects the awareness and acceptance of the HPV vaccine among these adolescents. Therefore, information and communication programs that are culturally appropriate and target educational intervention for accepting the HPV vaccine are recommended.

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Published

2026-05-21

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2025): December 2025

Section

Original Articles

License

Submission of manuscripts to the Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research is of the understanding that the article either in part or whole is not under consideration for publication in any other Journal. Accepted papers become the permanent property of Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research but unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium is permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.