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Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination offers an excellent prospect for the primary prevention of cervical cancer. The bivalent and quadrivalent vaccines are both available in India. The nonavalent vaccine is licensed but not yet available. However, there still remain controversies regarding the vaccination of older women, immunocompromised females and other special groups. To provide recommendations for HPV vaccination in India. The Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI) convened an expert group on cervical cancer prevention to formulate good clinical practice recommendations (GCPR) with respect to vaccine efficacy and safety, target groups, optimal timing and dosing schedules. HPV vaccines are licensed for females aged 9–45 years in India and have been seen to be safe and effective. FOGSI recommends HPV vaccination of all girls <15 years of age as the best target group, in whom two‐doses at an interval of 6 months, extendable to 18 months, are recommended. Three‐doses are recommended in girls >15 years of age, immunocompromised persons and sexual assault survivors. Older women and women with abnormal screening results may be vaccinated with an understanding that vaccination does not protect against already acquired infections and screening has to continue. Single‐dose vaccination results are promising. Increased awareness is required to reduce vaccine hesitancy. HPV vaccination should be the priority to achieve the elimination of cervical cancer. The introduction of affordable HPV vaccines and reduced dose schedules will improve coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the prevalence of physical violence during pregnancy and the factors associated with it.A population-based, multicentre, cross sectional household survey.Rural, slum and urban non-slum areas of Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Lucknow, Nagpur, Trivandrum and Vellore, in India.A total of 9938 women who were 15 to 49 years of age and living with a child younger than 18 years old.Probability proportionate to size sampling of households was performed in three strata. Trained field workers administered a structured questionnaire. Women who reported domestic violence were asked about violence during pregnancy. Outcome variables included six violent behaviours: slap, hit, kick, beat, use of weapon and harm in any other way. Moderate to severe violence was defined as experience of any one or more of the following behaviours: hit, beat or kick. Odds ratios were calculated for risk and protective factors of violence during pregnancy using logistic regression.Physical spousal violence.The lifetime experience, during pregnancy, of being slapped was 16%, hit 10%, beat 10%, kicked 9%, use of weapon 5% and harmed in any other way 6%. Eighteen percent of women experienced at least one of these behaviours and 3% experienced all six. The overall prevalence of moderate to severe violence during pregnancy was 13%. Logistic regression showed that the factors determining whether a woman experienced moderate to severe violence during pregnancy were: husband accusing wife of an affair (OR 7.1; 95% CI 5.1 to 9.8), dowry harassment (OR 4.1; 95% CI 2.8 to 6.1), husband having an affair (OR 3.7; 95% CI 2.8 to 4.8), husband being regularly drunk (OR 3.2; 95% CI 2.6 to 4.1), low education of husband (OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.4 to 5.6), substance abuse by husband (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.3 to 5.5), no social support (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.0), three or more children (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.2 to 2.1) and household crowding (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.0 to 1.2).In this study, 12.9% of women experienced moderate to severe physical violence during pregnancy. Suspicion of infidelity, dowry harassment, husband being regularly drunk and low education of husband were the main risk factors for violence during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]