Comparing the knowledge and awareness of cervical and breast cancer among medical and nonmedical students of a private institution in South India.

Abstract

Cervical and breast cancer is the most leading cause of death among women globally. Cervical and breast cancer can be cured if detected early. The aim of the study was to compare the knowledge and awareness of cervical and breast cancer among medical and nonmedical students of a private institution in South India. A cross-sectional study was done on 600 female students of a private institution comprising both medical and nonmedical for a period of 6 months. A study was done to assess the awareness and knowledge on cervical and breast cancer by using a standardized questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed with Mann-Whitney test by using GraphPad prism. Out of the 600 female students, there were each of 300 female students in medical and nonmedical. Majority of the student population was seen in 17-19 years: 143 (47.6%) in medical and 206 (68.6%) in nonmedical. A total of 235 (78.3%) medical students have heard of cervical cancer and its screening (164 [54.6%]). Many nonmedical students have never heard of cervical cancer (248 [82.6%]) and its screening (283 [94.3%]). Nearly 61% of the medical students and 1.1% nonmedical have heard of Pap smear. Both medical students (276 [92%]) and nonmedical students (179 [53.2%]) were aware of the breast cancer but have less awareness about the age of occurrence. Awareness on breast self-examination was poor among medical (137 [45.6%]) and nonmedical (19 [5.6%]) students. The P < 0.0001 (<0.05) showed a statistically significant difference between the medical and nonmedical students. Through the findings of our study, we analyzed that the knowledge and awareness of cervical and breast cancer among medical students was better than that of the nonmedical students.