Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus Infection, Cervical Cancer and Willingness to pay for Cervical Cancer Vaccination among Ethnically Diverse Medical Students in Malaysia

The primary objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of medical students and determine variationbetween different cultural groups. A secondary aim was to find out the willingness to pay for cervical cancervaccination and the relationships between knowledge and attitudes towards Human Papillomavirus vaccination.A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a private medical university between June 2014 and November 2014using a convenient sampling method. A total of 305 respondents were recruited and interviewed with standardquestionnaires for assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards human papilloma virus and theirwillingness to pay for HPV vaccination. Knowledge regarding human papilloma virus, human papilloma virusvaccination, cervical cancer screening and cervical cancer risk factors was good. Across the sample, a majority(90%) of the pupils demonstrated a high degree of knowledge about cervical cancer and its vaccination. Therewere no significant differences between ethnicity and the participants’ overall knowledge of HPV infection,Pap smear and cervical cancer vaccination. Some 88% of participants answered that HPV vaccine can preventcervical cancer, while 81.5% of medical students said they would recommend HPV vaccination to the publicalthough fewer expressed an intention to receive vaccination for themselves.