Knowledge of cervical cancer screening among rural Indian women: a cross sectional study

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 1/4 th 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.