Uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination and its associated factors among adolescents in Gambella town, Southwest, Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

Objective 

To assess the uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and its associated factors among adolescents in Gambella town, Southwest Ethiopia. 

Design

 A community-based cross-sectional study. 

Setting 

Gambella town, Southwest Ethiopia. 

Participants 

A total of 882 adolescents were included between May and July 2022. 

Outcome 

Uptake of HPV vaccination. 

Methods 

A cluster sampling technique was used to select study participants. An interviewer-administered and pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. The collected data were entered into Epi-data V.4.6 and exported to STATA V.16 for cleaning, coding and analysis. A binary logistic regression model was used to test the association between independent and dependent variables. Variables with a p<0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression were considered statistically significant factors for the uptake of HPV vaccination. 

Results 

A total of 825 adolescents participated in this study. Among participants, 48% (95% CI 44.6% to 51.4%) have been vaccinated for HPV. Ever heard of the HPV vaccine (AOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.23 to 5.08), good knowledge of HPV infection (AOR 3.62, 95% CI 2.17 to 6.02), good knowledge of the HPV vaccine (AOR 5.54, 95% CI 3.28 to 9.36) and attitude towards the HPV vaccine (AOR 2.74, 95% CI 1.88 to 3.98) were significantly associated HPV vaccination. 

Conclusion 

In the current study, the uptake of HPV vaccination was found to be low. The finding highlights the importance of promoting community health education about HPV infection and vaccines and providing behaviour change education, which plays a substantial role in promoting the uptake of HPV vaccination.