Date of Publication :15th March 2024

Abstract: Cervical cancer is the fourth most prevalent type of cancer in women. worldwide, with 660,000 new cases and 350,000 deaths annually. In India, it ranks as the second most common cause of cancer deaths, contributing to 25% of global cases. The WHO recommends the HPV vaccine before a female's first sexual experience to prevent cervical cancer. Aimed to assess the effectiveness of a health education program on Awareness regarding HPV vaccination for prevention of cervical cancer among adolescent girls studying at selected degree colleges of Belagavi. A study design, one group pre-test and post-test, was used. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the samples. A sum total of 225 adolescent girls were surveyed using a structured Knowledge questionnaire. Results showed that in the pre-test 81.3% of participants had average knowledge, and 17.8% had a good knowledge level about the HPV vaccine. In the post-test of knowledge, it increased significantly, 57.3% had a good level of knowledge. The percentage of participants with average knowledge decreased to 41.35%. A considerable improvement was seen in the mean knowledge score, which went from 15.23 ± 2.74 to 17.61 ± 3.23 (p = 0.000). was significant association was found between the stream of study and the baseline data of adolescent girls about the HPV vaccination. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that health education initiatives help creating awareness regarding HPV vaccination for the prevention of cervical cancer.

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