KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING AMONG WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE

Abstract

Background: While effective screening and treatment are largely preventable, there is low awareness to screening, especially among women in resource-poor, low literacy, and peripheral communities. Objective: To evaluate knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer screening among reproductive age women attending tertiary care hospital. Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study done in a tertiary care hospital from February 1, 2026 to July 30, 2026. The number of women of reproductive age (WRA) recruited in this study was 80 using non probability consecutive sampling technique. The data were gathered by a structured questionnaire to capture the sociodemographic data, knowledge about cervical cancer, HPV infection, risk factors, symptoms of cervical cancer, screening, and prevention. Face to face interviews were also undertaken and language used was simple and easy to comprehend for the benefit of participants who had low literacy levels. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 26 and presented in frequencies and percentages. Results: The average age of the subjects was 32.6 ± 7.8 years. The majority of participants were married (76.3%), living in peripheral and rural areas (61.3%) and with low education (62.1%). Fewer than one-third (30.0%) had heard about cervical cancer, less than a third (18.8%) had heard about HPV infection, and less than a third (27.5%) had heard about Pap smear. Limited awareness of HPV vaccination was reported (16.3%) and only 8.8% had previously had cervical cancer screening. In general, the knowledge level was poor with 62.5% of them. The missing or inadequate information (35.0%), difficulty accessing health care facilities (22.5%) and financial difficulties (17.5%) were significant barriers. Of those who were told the right information, 72.5% said that they would be willing to get screened. Conclusion: The knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer screening was found to be low, especially among women from periphery and low-resource areas. Promoting access to less costly screening services and community-based education is important to improve screening uptake.