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Effect of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Education Intervention on HPV Knowledge and Awareness Among High School Learners in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

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Abstract

Little is known about the level of knowledge and awareness with regard to human papillomavirus (HPV) and its associated risks among adolescents and young adults in South Africa. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess HPV infection and associated risks knowledge level among learners attending high schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Learners (females and males) attending five selected schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa participated. The intervention included knowledge pre-assessment, education through structured lecture, and post-education assessment. Self-administered questionnaires were used in both pre and post-intervention assessments. There were 2652 learners, who participated, with a median age of 18 years (IQR: 16–19). Female participants constituted 53.58% (1421/2652), and male participants were 46.42% (1231/2652). Before education intervention, only 4.08% (107/2623) of learners ever heard about HPV and 3.31% (87/2626) about HPV vaccination. Only 9.36% (247/2638) and 9.34% (246/2635) knew that HPV infection is sexually transmitted and associated with cervical cancer development, respectively. After education intervention, knowledge about HPV among learners increased significantly (p < 0.001). In post-education assessment, female high school learners were 66% more likely to acquire HPV knowledge than males (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.40–1.97; p < 0.0001). Exposure to an educational intervention significantly increased learners’ knowledge levels. The increasing burden of cervical cancer and other HPV-associated cancers are public health problems of concern. Therefore, the evaluation of educational interventions for increasing knowledge on HPV-associated diseases is necessary for low-resource settings with a high burden of cervical cancer.

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Data Availability

The datasets used in the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Department of Education Eastern Cape Province, Ngcobo sub-district office, school principals, school teachers, school management, and learners. We also acknowledge the office of the Department of Health Ngcobo sub-district and Mrs. Mbulawa and Mrs. Manqinana (former and current managers).

Funding

This work was funded by the South African Medical Research Council Self-Initiated Research Grant (384709) and National Health Laboratory Service Research Trust. ALW’s salary is funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number: 64815). Opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations are those of the authors alone and do not reflect South African Medical Research Council, National Health Laboratory Service Research Trust, and National Research Foundation of South Africa opinions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Health Laboratory Service, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Mthatha, South Africa

    Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

    Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa

  3. Center for HIV and STIs, National Health Laboratory Service, National Institute for Communicable Disease, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa

  4. UCT-MRC Clinical Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa, Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda & Anna-Lise Williamson

  5. Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa & Anna-Lise Williamson

  6. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, and Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Sisson Street, Fort Gale, Mthatha, South Africa

    Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa

  7. South African Medical Research Council, Burden of Disease Research Unit, Cape Town, South Africa

    Nontuthuzelo I. Somdyala

  8. The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia

    Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda

  9. Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda

  10. Mpumalanga Department of Health, Middelburg, South Africa

    Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda

  11. Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Anna-Lise Williamson

Authors
  1. Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa
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  2. Nontuthuzelo I. Somdyala
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  3. Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda
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  4. Anna-Lise Williamson
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Contributions

ZZAM, NS, and ALW contributed toward the study conception, design of the study, protocol compilation. ZZAM collected the data. Analysis and interpretation of data were performed by SM and ZZAM. The first draft of the paper was written by ZZAM with the contribution from SM, NS, and ALW. All authors were actively involved in the edition and revision of the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript to be submitted.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zizipho Z. A. Mbulawa.

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Mbulawa, Z.Z.A., Somdyala, N.I., Mabunda, S.A. et al. Effect of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Education Intervention on HPV Knowledge and Awareness Among High School Learners in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. J Canc Educ 38, 146–152 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02090-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02090-3

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