• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6691-6695
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• 2014

Background: A population-based cervical cancer screening program using visual inspection with acetic acid was launched in Maldives in 2014. Our study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of women in relation to risk factors of cervical cancer, early detection of the disease and its prevention. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire based survey was conducted among 20 to 50 year old women, systematically sampled to represent three regions of Maldives. Trained investigators interviewed a total of 2,845 women at home. Results: The prevalence of the risk factors of cervical cancer like early age at marriage and childbirth, multiple marriages, multiple marriages of the husbands, and multiple pregnancies was high. More women knew about breast cancer than cervical cancer. Even among the small number of women who knew of cervical cancer, only 34.6% had the knowledge of at least one early symptom. Very few women knew that the cancer could be prevented by any test. Only 6.2% of the women reported having ever undergone a Pap smear. Many women had the misconception that cervical cancer was infectious. In Maldives the younger women have high literacy rate due to the policy of universal free education and those with higher levels of education had improved knowledge of cervical cancer and its risk factors. The prevalence of risk factors also reduced with improved literacy. Conclusions: Awareness about risk factors and prevention of cervical cancer is limited among Maldivian women in spite of having high exposure to some of the risk factors. A universal literacy program in the country has helped to improve the knowledge of cervical cancer prevention and to reduce the exposure to various risk factors in the younger population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8801-8807
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of Turkish women over 20 years old on cervix cancer. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed at a primary care center covering 246 women using a questionnaire composed of 3 sections and 38 questions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test in univariate analysis and multivariate hierarchical logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the 93.7% women who knew about cervical cancer, 68.0% of them had heard pap smear test and 46.1% had actually undergone a Pap smear once or more throughout their lives. According to the results of the hierarchical logistic regression analysis about factors affecting the Pap smear test; in Model 1, increase in age and education levels, in Model 2 and Model 3 increase in age and cervical cancer information points were determined. The most important information source for cervical cancer was TV-radio/media (59.9%) and health care workers (62.8%) for pap smear test. Conclusions: Although most women have heard of cervical cancer, knowledge about cervical cancer and also Pap smear screening rate are significantly lower. Having Pap smear test for women was affected by age and knowledge level about cervical cancer. Informing women about cervical cancer would be an important intervention.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.225-231
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to find out how much female university students knew about cervical cancer and Human papillomavirus (HPV) and to develop preventive behavior strategies for HPV infection. Method: In total, 511 students were involved and the assessment was done by means of cervical cancer knowledge questions, HPV knowledge questions and Alert questions. Result: The value regarding the knowledge of cervical cancer and of HPV turned out lower than the median while the degree of HPV prevention behavior intention was approximately mean. The values of the three variables, i.e. the knowledge of cervical cancer, knowledge of HPV, and the degree of preventive behavior intention were higher proportionately, showing a statistically significant difference, as the age of the subjects went higher, as long as they were nursing majors, and were more knowledgeable about HPV (p<.05). The three variables correlated positively (p<.05). Conclusion: Since the lack of knowledge with regard to cervical cancer and HPV is seen to cause a certain portion of female students to be vulnerable to the disease and lead them to a low degree of prevention, it is highly recommended to organize systematic sex education and thereby increase the willingness for preventive actions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.879-883
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• 2012

Cervical cancer is caused by HPV infection and can be prevented by early vaccination. Objective: To assess Syrian women's level of knowledge and determinants of good knowledge of cervical cancer, HPV infection and its vaccines. Methods: A cross sectional survey was undertaken among mothers with daughters in sixth grade classes enrolled in primary schools in Aleppo city, Syria. Samples were selected through cluster sampling and data collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Less than a third of the mothers had heard of HPV infection and vaccines against cervical cancer and levels of knowledge were generally low. Good knowledge was associated with high education level, higher family monthly income, having few - less than four children, positive history of cervical cancer screening, and working or having relatives working in the medical field. The main source of information was television and few reported health care providers as a source of knowledge on HPV infection and vaccine. Conclusion: Since knowledge of HPV infection and its connection with cervical cancer and its vaccine are low, more efforts must be made to educate Syrians prior to introduction of any HPV vaccination programme. Public health efforts must focus on educating mothers, the public as well as health care providers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.158-168
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge of cervical cancer, HPV and intention for vaccination in Korean soldiers on active duty. Methods: Participants were 494 army men aged 18 to 26 serving in D area. Knowledge of cervical cancer was measured using the 8 item scale developed by Han et al. (2007) and knowledge of HPV was measured using the 13 item scale developed by Pitts et al. (2009). Collected data were analyzed with t-test, $x^2$-test, and ANOVA. Results: Mean scores for cervical cancer and HPV knowledge were $6.03{\pm}1.52$ and $8.15{\pm}1.75$ respectively and vaccination intention was 75.6%. HPV vaccination intention had significant differences depending on knowledge about cervical cancer (${\chi}^2=12.76$, p=.001), and HPV (${\chi}^2=9.00$, p=.003), education (${\chi}^2=12.24$, p=.002), sexual intercourse after first meeting (${\chi}^2=11.79$, p=.003), and sexual education in the military service (${\chi}^2=12.27$, p=.001). Conclusion: When planning education program for men in military service, it is necessary to consider include content to increase knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2895-2898
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• 2015

Background: In the years 2014, coverage rates of cervical cancer screening in Nakornnayok province accounted to 76.5%. This was lower than the government's specified goal of 80%. Community health volunteers are members of a Thai healthcare alliance established to help promoting healthcare service communication and collaboration at the primary level. Such village health volunteers (VHVs) are established in most villages. Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of cervical cancer screening among VHVs. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 128 VHVs from four Nakornnayok sub-districts; namely KlongYai, Chomphol, Buangsan and Suksara, Thailand. The study was conducted from December 2014 to January 2015. The questionnaire was designed to assess the knowledge and attitude of cervical cancer screening provided by the VHVs. In addition, cervical cancer screening coverage rates of each area were collected. The demographic data, scores of knowledge, attitudes, practices and the cervical cancer screening coverage rates were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Results: The questionnaire reliability was assessed as 0.81. The total knowledge and attitude scores were 10 and 15 points. The mean knowledge scores of KlongYai, Chomphol, Buangsan and Suksara were 6.8, 7.0, 6.5 and 9.0 points, respectively. The VHVs had a high level of overall knowledge about cervical cancer screening. The mean attitude scores were 12.4, 13.2, 13.4 and 13.1 points. VHVs had a positive attitude to the promotion of cervical cancer screening at the overall level. The percentages of VHVs promoting cervical cancer information in respective districts were 72.2, 94.3, 94.9 and 50.0. However, the cervical cancer screening coverage rates were 62.4%, 34.7%, 80.3% and 47.3% respectively. Conclusions: The knowledge, attitudes and percentages of promoting information of cervical cancer screening among VHVs in the four sub-districts were high but did not correlate with the cervical screening coverage rates for each area. VHVs needed to understand socio-cultural beliefs of the women in the target population and design suitable strategies to encourage higher cervical screening coverage.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.617-624
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• 2004

Purpose. Korean American women have twice the rate of cervical cancer than white women and demonstrate low rates in participation in cervical cancer screening. This study was to describe the perceptions about cervical cancer and factors related to cervical cancer screening among Korean American women. Method. Focus group methods. Results. Five themes emerged. First, knowledge about cervical cancer; misconceptions about cervical cancer, its causes, reproductive anatomy and the treatment Second, perceived meanings of having cervical cancer; most of the women felt that cervical cancer represented a loss of femininity and existential value of woman-hood. Third, knowledge about cervical cancer screening; regular medical check-ups were necessary for early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. Forth, experiences and perceived meanings of cervical cancer screening; the participants expressed their feelings; embarrassment, fear, shame and shyness. Fifth, practices of cervical cancer screening; various intervals in participating in cervical cancer screening. But they mentioned several deterrents, language, insurance, time constraint, embarrassment, fear of the screening results, misbelief about susceptibility, lack of health prevention behavior, and lack of information written in Korean. Conclusion: Results emphasize the critical need for culturally appropriate health education to encourage participation of Korean American women in cervical cancer screening.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.625-630
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• 2016

Background: Despite the established role of the Pap smear test (PST) in prevention and early detection of cervical cancer, it is still rarely practiced in Sudan. Many challenges hinder the establishment of an effective cervical cancer screening program, including socio-cultural factors. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Sudanese women with regard to the Pap smear test and cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 500 married women aged 14 to 58 years were recruited from obstetric clinics, hospitals and universities in Khartoum in 2014. Data were collected using a standardized, pretested questionnaire that inquired socio-demographic characteristics and their KAP about cervical cancer and the PST. Results: More than 52% of participating women were above 30 years of age, and the majority (78.8%) were university degree holders. A total of 486 (97.2 %) of participants were resident in urban areas of Khartoum State. However about 48% of the respondents had never heard about PST, and only 15.8% of the participants had undergone a Pap smear test previously; 46.6% (233/500) knew that the human papilloma virus (HPV) was the causative agent, but only 39.2% (196/500) had heard about HPV vaccination, and only 11.4% (57/500) had received the vaccine. However 68% of the respondents agreed to do Pap smear if properly informed about the test and 75.4% of the respondents agreed to participate in a cervical cancer screening program. Conclusions: Despite a high educational level, less than half of our participants had accurate knowledge about cervical cancer, HPV, and cervical cancer screening. Health education about cervical cancer, HPV and sexually transmitted infections and the role of PST in cervical cancer prevention are crucial when designing interventions aimed at improving cervical cancer screening for Sudanese women.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3699-3704
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• 2014

Background: This study aimed to determine knowledge, attitudes and believes about cervical cancer and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination with related factors in Turkish university students. Materials and Methods: This descriptive and cross sectional study was conducted between June-July 2013 in Hitit University located in Corum, a rural area to the East of Ankara. The population consisted of 550 university students who were training in first and last year from Faculties of Economics, Theology and Health. We reached 463 volunteer students without selection. The study of data was collected with a 44 item questionaire covering socio-demographic features, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about cervical cancer, HPV and vaccination. Also for this study ethic committee report was taken from Bozok University. Data were evaluated with the SPSS 17.0 programme using the Ki kare test with P<0.05 accepted as statistically significant. Results: It was seen that there was a statistically significant variation between classrooms and departments of students with knowledge about cervical cancer and human papilloma virus and vaccine (p<0.001; p<0.01; p<0.05). Also we found low attitudes to thinking about taking HPV vaccination of girls and their children in the future. Conclusions: In light of the study findings; it was concluded that knowledge levels, beliefs and attitudes of the university students about cervical cancer, HPV infection and HPV vaccination were low.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7679-7686
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• 2014

Background: This study aimed to seek insights into Chinese women's lay beliefs about cervical cancer causal attributions and prevention. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three new immigrant adult women from Mainland China and thirty-five Hong Kong adult women underwent semi-structured in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed and analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach. Results: This study generated three foci: causal beliefs about cervical cancer, perceived risk of cervical cancer, and beliefs about cervical cancer prevention. Personal risky practices, contaminated food and environment pollution were perceived as the primary causes of cervical cancer. New immigrant women more likely attributed cervical cancer to external factors. Most participants perceived cervical cancer as an important common fatal female cancer with increased risk/prevalence. Many participants, particularly new immigrant women participants, expressed helplessness about cervical cancer prevention due to lack of knowledge of prevention, it being perceived as beyond individual control. Many new immigrant participants had never undergone regular cervical screening while almost all Hong Kong participants had done so. Conclusions: Some Chinese women hold pessimistic beliefs about cervical cancer prevention with inadequate knowledge about risk factors. Future cervical cancer prevention programs should provide more information and include capacity building to increase Chinese women's knowledge and self-efficacy towards cervical cancer prevention.