In an effort to decrease the toll of cervical cancer, by its knowledge, prevention and treatment services in the community, we assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding cervical cancer screening among Eastern Indian women.
A total of 481 women were randomly selected from those who visited the outpatient clinic at MAGS Medical & Research Center, Kolkata, India irrespective of reason(s) for the visit. A pre-tested structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practice related to cervical cancer screening was administered.
We found a significant lack of awareness regarding cervical cancer and its screening methods in Indian women. Only 24.5% of them had ever heard of cancer cervix and this was quite low when compared to other developed and many of the developing nations. During analysis the mean age of study group was found to be 44.29±10.036 years, 95.2% were married with mean age at marriage being 22.71±2.99 years and mean parity being 1.82. Although, depth of knowledge regarding Pap smear and cervical cancer was also found to be quite shallow in this study but it was significantly higher in those with higher educational level and higher income group. Attitude towards Pap smear test was found to be positive as more than two third of the participants aware of the test assumed it to be beneficial. The role of education and economic stability was also established in regard to perceived benefits of pap smear and this distribution was significant statistically (P value 0.049 and 0.015). It was seen in this study that the positive attitude towards the test was translated into right practice and behavior.
This study revealed the limited knowledge of Indian women about the susceptibility of cervical cancer, and the necessity of cervical cancer screening among the women. Inadequate public health education, lack of patient-friendly health services, socio-cultural health beliefs, and personal difficulties were the most salient barriers to screening.