Background: Cervical cancer is largely preventable through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, appropriate screening, and timely management of precancerous lesions. Adolescents require accurate, age-appropriate information to understand prevention and make informed decisions. Objective: To assess baseline knowledge regarding HPV vaccination and cervical cancer and evaluate a school-based educational programme among adolescent girls. Methods: A quantitative, quasi-experimental, single-group pre-test–post-test study enrolled 60 adolescent girls through simple random sampling using an envelope method at a selected school in Thoubal, Manipur. A structured knowledge questionnaire was administered before the educational programme and again seven days later. Descriptive and inferential statistics were reported in the source study. Results: At baseline, 42 (70.0%) participants had inadequate knowledge, 15 (25.0%) average knowledge, and 3 (5.0%) adequate knowledge. Following education, corresponding figures were 7 (11.7%), 8 (13.3%), and 45 (75.0%). Mean scores increased from 12.17 ± 5.80 to 23.73 ± 6.37, an absolute mean increase of 11.56 points. The source reported t = 8.84, indicating a statistically significant pre–post difference; however, the paired-score standard deviation, degrees of freedom, and exact p-value were unavailable for independent verification. Conclusion: A school-based educational programme was associated with substantially improved short-term knowledge. Controlled studies with longer follow-up are needed to establish causal effectiveness and durability.
adolescent girls; cervical cancer; health education; HPV vaccine; knowledge; school health.
Background: Cervical cancer is largely preventable through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, appropriate screening, and timely management of precancerous lesions. Adolescents require accurate, age-appropriate information to understand prevention and make informed decisions. Objective: To assess baseline knowledge regarding HPV vaccination and cervical cancer and evaluate a school-based educational programme among adolescent girls. Methods: A quantitative, quasi-experimental, single-group pre-test–post-test study enrolled 60 adolescent girls through simple random sampling using an envelope method at a selected school in Thoubal, Manipur. A structured knowledge questionnaire was administered before the educational programme and again seven days later. Descriptive and inferential statistics were reported in the source study. Results: At baseline, 42 (70.0%) participants had inadequate knowledge, 15 (25.0%) average knowledge, and 3 (5.0%) adequate knowledge. Following education, corresponding figures were 7 (11.7%), 8 (13.3%), and 45 (75.0%). Mean scores increased from 12.17 ± 5.80 to 23.73 ± 6.37, an absolute mean increase of 11.56 points. The source reported t = 8.84, indicating a statistically significant pre–post difference; however, the paired-score standard deviation, degrees of freedom, and exact p-value were unavailable for independent verification. Conclusion: A school-based educational programme was associated with substantially improved short-term knowledge. Controlled studies with longer follow-up are needed to establish causal effectiveness and durability.
adolescent girls; cervical cancer; health education; HPV vaccine; knowledge; school health.