Knowledge, attitude and practices about cervical cancer screening among nursing staff in rural tertiary care center

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. The knowledge and attitude of nursing personnel towards cervical cancer screening can grossly influence the community. As the doctor to patient ratio is low in India, staff nurses if trained can act both as health educators and service providers. Objectives of the study were to determine the baseline information about the knowledge of cervical cancer and explore attitude and practice of Pap smear screening among staff nurses.Methods: In this cross-sectional study sample of 100 nurses was selected randomly out of the total 445 nurses employed in the hospital at a rural tertiary care centre from August 2016 to October 2016. A self-administered, structured, open ended and pretested questionnaire comprising of questions on the general characteristics, awareness, perceptions and actual practices of nursing personnel was used to gather information about cervical screening.Results: In this study, 82% knew that Pap smear can detect cancer. About 48% knew that it can present as post-menopausal bleeding and 32% of the respondents knew that HPV is a risk factor for cancer cervix, but only 30% knew about HPV vaccine and only 35% have ever been screened.Conclusions: The study showed that, knowledge about cancer cervix, screening and practice of Pap smear is low among nursing staff. There is an urgent need for integration of cervical cancer prevention issues in the nurses existing training curriculum.

Young women’s knowledge and attitudes towards cervical cancer screening at a selected higher education institution in Lesotho

“…Cervical cancer screening through Pap smear could be very effective in detecting cervical neoplasia at a primordial stage, and this could be precipitated by a very effective treatment. Only 30% of the respondents knew that screening should begin at 21 years, which is comparable to 46% and 54.1% of respondents that knew in studies by Vishwakarma et al, [12] and Shah et al, [14], respectively. Majority of the respondents in this study knew that HPV vaccination was a preventive measure against cervical cancer, and this is a similar finding to a study that reported that 82.7% of the participants pointed HPV as a preventive measure, [16].…”

Knowledge, attitude, and practice on screening toward cervical cancer among health professionals in India—A review

“…Among 22 studies reviewed, 19 studies 15 – 25 , 27 – 30 , 32 – 35 reported knowledge of cervical cancer. The overall knowledge of cervical cancer among health professionals was 75.14%.…”

“…The awareness level of risk factors was adequate. Among 22 studies, 14 studies 14 , 15 , 17 – 21 , 24 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 33 – 35 reported knowledge of risk factors of cervical cancer. The most common risk factor known was multiple sexual partners 44.07%, HPV infection 40.85%, and early age of marriage 38.52% ( Figure 2 ).…”

“…Among 22 articles reviewed, 11 articles 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 24 , 25 , 28 , 34 , 35 reported knowledge of signs and symptoms of cervical cancer. The awareness level of signs and symptoms was also adequate.…”

Knowledge towards Cervical Cancer Screening and Associated Factors among Urban Health Extension Workers at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…The evidence of other studies indicate that women do not know at what specific age they have to conduct cervical cancer screening. If they do not know at what age they need to begin the screening, all women are at risk of cervical cancer [10].…”