Evaluating Knowledge Regarding Cervical Cancer and Its Screening among Woman in Rural India

Abstract

<b>Context</b> Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among rural women of India. However, awareness of cancer of the uterine cervix and its screening coverage among the general population of India remains insufficient. <b>Aims</b> The study aims to assess awareness of cervical cancer and its screening among women attending a rural health care center in northern India and determine factors associated with satisfactory knowledge. <b>Settings and Design</b> A cross-sectional observational study was done among women attending a rural secondary health care center from Uttar Pradesh, India. <b>Materials and Methods</b> A total of 1088 women aged ≥30 years were interviewed using a pretested schedule. Data were collected for biosocial, reproductive, sexual, and personal habits of participants and their partners. Scoring for knowledge related to cervical cancer and its screening was done. <b>Statistical Analysis Used</b> Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square test was applied to detect the significant difference in distribution of bio-socio-demographic variables with knowledge score. Statistically significant variables were subjected to multinomial logistic regression. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were calculated as odds of having poor cervical cancer awareness. <i>p</i> < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. <b>Results</b> Most participants knew about cervical cancer as a type of cancer in women. Very few knew about symptoms, risk factors, and screening of the disease. Illiteracy and multiple sexual contacts were significant predictors of awareness. <b>Conclusions</b> The study demonstrates a lack of awareness in women regarding cervical cancer and its prevention, especially among those women who belonged to weaker sections of the society, because of illiteracy and poor socioeconomic status. Lack of awareness is a potential limiting step for a woman to seek cervical cancer screening. Multipronged strategies are needed to improve the level of cervical cancer awareness among women.