| Abstract: |
Cervical cancer remains a major cause of preventable morbidity and
mortality among Nigerian women, and the Human Papillomavirus
(HPV) vaccine, introduced into Nigeria's national immunisation
schedule in October 2023, offers a proven means of primary
prevention. Yet vaccine uptake among young adults remains low, partly
due to the rapid circulation of misinformation on social media
platforms such as Facebook. This study examined the perceived
influence of misinformation on HPV vaccine uptake among
undergraduate Facebook users in Southeast Nigeria. Anchored on the
Health Belief Model, the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and the Social
Amplification of Risk Framework, the study adopted a survey research
design. Asample of 383 respondents was drawn from nine state-owned
tertiary institutions across Anambra, Enugu, and Abia States using
Cochran's (1963) formula with a finite population correction, following
a five-stage multistage sampling procedure. Of the questionnaires
distributed, 379 were retrieved and valid for analysis (98.96% return
rate). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's Chisquare test of association at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings
showed that 79.4% of respondents had at least moderate awareness of
the HPVvaccine, though comprehensive knowledge remained shallow.
The most prevalent misinformation narratives concerned infertility
(41.2%), promiscuity (27.4%), and vaccine safety (21.9%). Amajority
(58.8%) reported that misinformation strongly influenced their
vaccination decisions, and frequent daily Facebook users showed
markedly higher susceptibility to misinformation (67.6%) than
occasional users (26.4%). All three null hypotheses were rejected:
perceived misinformation, Facebook usage patterns, and exposure to
misinformation were each significantly associated with vaccination
decisions and willingness to uptake the vaccine. The study concludes
that misinformation on Facebook constitutes a significant, empirically
demonstrable barrier to HPV vaccine uptake among Southeast
Nigerian undergraduates and recommends coordinated digital health
literacy, institutional, and platform-level interventions. |
