A Study on Knowledge about Screening and Prevention of Carcinoma Cervix in Women Attending Gynecology Outdoor of Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi

Abstract

Objective: To assess the knowledge regarding carcinoma cervix, its prevention and screening in women attending Gynaecology outpatient Fauji Foundation Hospital, Foundation University Islamabad.

Methodology: It was a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire based study carried out in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Foundation University Islamabad over a period of six months i.e. from 28-07-2020 to 27- 01-2021. A total of 250 patients were enrolled in the study by non-random consecutive sampling. Knowledge was assessed by commuting all questions and obtaining mean according to which population falling below mean had poor, on mean fair and above mean had good knowledge. The statistical software used for data analysis was SPSS version 23.0 (Statistical Package for Social Statistics). Post-stratification chi-square tests was applied, and a p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Women who had poor knowledge about cervical cancer were 172 (68.8%), fair knowledge 77 (30.8%) and only 1 (0.4%) had good knowledge about screening. None of the effect modifiers (age, education, parity, marital status) has shown statistically significant difference (p value < 0.05) between different groups signifying no effect of these modifiers on knowledge regarding the disease.

Conclusion: There is a lack of knowledge among majority of women regarding cervical cancer prevention and screening, pressing the need for increasing awareness about the importance of early detection through screening tests such as Pap smear and other methods.  By addressing the root causes of the problem and implementing targeted interventions the mortality and morbidity associated with cervical cancer can be effectively reduced.