A review of knowledge and attitudes of young people on cervical cancer and HPV vaccination

Aim Cervical cancer is a significant global health concern worldwide, and the second most common cause of cancer mortality, especially in developing countries. Since young people are more affected by cervical cancer, we aimed to investigate young people's knowledge of and attitudes towards cervical cancer and human papillomavirus vaccination by comparing developing and developed countries' results, by reviewing the published literature. Subjects and methods Due to the medical nature of the question, the search was confined to Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Over 100 abstracts published up to March 2018 which included young people's knowledge and attitudes were found. After a careful screening process of all authors, 50 of these articles were considered as appropriate, and reviewed. Results Human papillomavirus infection, cervical cancer, and human papillomavirus vaccines knowledge are generally low among young people. The knowledge level is higher in developed countries but is still insufficient. Conclusion Cervical cancer is potentially preventable. Effective screening and education programs with regard to human papillomavirus vaccination and infection can lead to a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality.