A cross sectional study on cervical cancer and its prevention among women of age group 25- 50 years in a rural area of south Tamilnadu, India.

Abstract

Background:Cancer of uterine cervix is one of the common carcinoma among females. India accounts for about 20% of cervical cancers. Prevention of cervical cancer, whether primary or secondary requires active participation of the community. For this they need knowledge about the disease & its prevention. Hence a study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding cervical cancer and its prevention was undertaken. Methods:A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a panchayat area of Kanyakumari district, South Tamilnadu. A sample of 100 women aged 25-50 years was taken by multistage random sampling. Results:Only 68 women were aware of the existence of cervical cancer & Health workers were the most common source of information (41.2%). Those who were employed had more awareness though the differences were not statistically significant. Only 8 women (11.76%) knew that there is a vaccine to prevent cancer cervix. Among those who were aware of cervical cancer, only 47 (69.1%) knew about the existence of a screening test to detect cancer cervix. Only 8 women had undergone PAP smear. Among those willing to reveal the reason for not undergoing PAP smear, lack of time (15.38%), embarrassment (10.26%) and no facility (2.8%) were the reasons. Women who were employed were more likely to be aware about screening for cervical cancer (75%). Conclusions: The existence of cervical cancer has reached the awareness of majority of the women in our area. But specific knowledge about cervical cancer & its prevention is still lacking.

Knowledge, awareness and practice of cervical cancer screening among ever married rural women of Ganjam District, Odisha: a community based cross-sectional study

“…21 Nelson SB et al, mentioned more than half of participants (53.2%) opined the tests should be taken once in a year whereas 87% of them stated women more than 35 years of age should get tested for cervical cancer. 16 In present study, only 20.4% ever received counselling about cervical screening which is very similar to findings by Kumar H et al 21 In the present study, only 14.6% ever had a screening test for cervical cancer in their life time. This finding is very similar to that by Nelson SB et al, Sambath S et al, and Elamurugan S et al 16,17,20…”

“…In present study even though 70.7% had heard cervical cancer only 32.5% were aware of cervical cancer screening which is very similar to findings by Nelson SB et al, in Tamil Nadu (30.9%), Sambath S et al, in Theni (22%) and Dahiya N et al, in New Delhi (23.3%). [16][17][18] In contrast, Aswathy S et al, in Kerala and Elamurugan S et al 19,20 found more than 70% of their participants knew about cervical cancer screening. In the present study only 19.3% had the knowledge of Pap test availability near their locality which was also observed by Kumar H et al, in Mangalore.…”

“…Lack of knowledge and thinking that tests not needed unless symptoms appeared as a reason are also reported by other studies.17- 22 Sambath S et al, found fear of procedure was one of the reason for it whereas Aswathy S et al, reported financial reason as one of the reason 17,19. Nelson SB et al, Aswathy S et al, Siddharthar J et al, and Thovarayi S et al, found education was significantly associated with good knowledge of cervical cancer screening and education had a great impact on taking the tests 16,19,22,23.…”

Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening Services and Its Association with Cervical Cancer Awareness and Knowledge Among Women of Reproductive Age in Dodoma, Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…A number of studies from other sub-Saharan African countries have similarly found that women who had low cervical cancer-related knowledge are less likely to be aware and participate in screening services. 21,28 But also another study done in Zimbabwe revealed a significant positive correlation (r=.187; P<.001) between knowledge of cervical cancer and uptake of screening. The results mean that uptake of cervical cancer screening in this particular study increased as knowledge of cervical cancer increased.…”

Perception about pap smear screening test among females attending a tertiary care center

“…Based on the literature, considering the knowledge about the screening test as 69% with confidence of 95% and relative precision of 10%, the sample size was calculated as hundred and seventy-three and it was rounded to hundred and eighty. 9 Hence, a total of 180 participants were included in the study. All women between 15-65 years of age who were attending the outpatient department of obstetrics and gynecology were included in the study.…”