THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY MEDICINE - Volume 10, Issue 4, october-december 2023

Pages: 9-15
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A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY ON THE KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING AND ACCEPTABILITY OF HPV VACCINES AMONG WOMEN ATTENDING THE NCD CLINICS AT TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Author: Apsara S , Vidhyashree MD , Arun Murugan S , Sathishkumar K , Rajesh J , Aravind G

Category: Medical

Abstract:

Background: Most of the cervical cancer cases are diagnosed late leading to poor health outcomes. Very few studies have explored the awareness of women about cervical cancer and HPV vaccines in India. Hence, this study was conducted with the aim to assess the knowledge and attitudes of women about cervical cancer and its screening and to explore the acceptability of cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccine. Methods: This was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study conducted among the women between 30 to 59 years of age attending the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) clinic at a tertiary care hospital in Chennai. Sample size was calculated to be and participants were selected consecutively. After obtaining permission from Institutional Ethics Committee, the questionnaire was administered to the women in the local language. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS Version 20. Results: A majority of the women have poor knowledge about cervical cancer (81.9% [82/105]) and its screening (85.5% [84/105]). Only about 0.06% of the participants had undergone screening. Social stigma was the most common deterring factor (27.1%) for screening and 13.2% of the participants mentioned that social stigma was the reason for unacceptability for HPV vaccine. Conclusion and Recommendations: Majority of women had poor knowledge. Mass media could be used to educate the women. There is a need to conduct a community-based study to know the practices of doctors to assess if they are educating and offering recommendations for screening.

Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, cervical cancer screening, acceptability, HPV vaccine

DOI: 10.51546/JSUM.2023.10402

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.51546/JSUM.2023.10402

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