Thovarayi, Suryapriya Balan and Noronha, Judith Angelitta and Shobha, * (2014) Knowledge of cervical cancer screening among rural Indian women: a cross sectional study. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science, 3 (3). pp. 51-55. ISSN 2320–1940

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Abstract

Cervical cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the world and the second largest cause of cancer mortality in India. Currently India accounts for 1/4th of the global cervical cancer burden . Though the incidence of cervical cancer has declined in developed countries, in developing countries like India where women do not undergo routine cervical cancer screening it is still a major problem. Purpose: This study was designed to assess the knowledge of cervical cancer, its symptoms, the Pap (Papanicolaou) smear test for screening and screening guidelines. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 407 women aged 21-65 years in a randomly selected village of udupitaluk in Karnataka. The data was collected using a valid knowledge questionnaire. Findings: Majority of the study population (98.5%, 401) had poor knowledge regarding cervical cancer screening. There was no apparent difference in the mean and standard deviation of knowledge scores in the different categories of cervical cancer (2.49±1.665), symptoms (0.43±0.496), Pap smear test (0.33±0.807) and screening guidelines (0.51±0.742). There is very poor knowledge of cervical cancer screening among women. Effective female education and mass screening are necessary for successful cervical cancer screening programme in India.

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