- Academic Editor
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Background: Awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer and human
papillomavirus (HPV) are consistently poor in low-resource settings. In addition,
there is insufficient evidence about young people’s knowledge and understanding
of cervical cancer, risk factors, screening and HPV vaccination in these
countries. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitudes and
behaviors of students studying at a university in Somalia regarding cervical
cancer and how to prevent it. Methods: This cross-sectional study was
conducted among students of the Faculty of Health Sciences at a private
university in Mogadishu, Somalia, between January and March 2021. The sample of
study consisted of a total of 220 female students. The data of the study were
collected using a questionnaire consisting of 32 questions evaluating the
knowledge and attitudes of the students regarding cervical cancer, HPV and the
HPV vaccine. Results: In the study, 59.1% of the participants stated
that they had previously heard of cervical cancer, 69.1% did not know that it
was fatal, 49.1% stated that it was preventable, 48.2% did not know the causes
of cervical cancer, and 2.7% had a family history of cervical cancer. In
addition, it was determined that 75.9% of the participants did not know that HPV
caused cervical cancer. When the knowledge of the participants about HPV and the
HPV vaccine was examined, it was determined that 55% of them had not previously
heard of HPV. When asked about how HPV is transmitted they stated that this
occurred through kissing (73.2%), sexual intercourse (58.2%) and using items
owned by individuals infected with HPV (41.8%). None of the participants had
received the HPV vaccine. Of these, 72.3% stated that they had not been
vaccinated because they did not know about the vaccine. According to 40.9% of
the participants, both boys and girls should be vaccinated; however, 63.6%
stated that they did not know at what age individuals should receive a vaccine.
In addition, 71.4% of participants said they did not know that the HPV vaccine
protects against HPV-related sexually transmitted diseases. There was a
statistically significant relationship only between the participants’ financial
status and the awareness variable (p