Saha A, Chaudhury A Nag, Bhowmik P, Chatterjee R
Department of Statistics, All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health, Kolkatta, India.
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2010;11(4):1085-90.
In the absence of any nationwide cervical screening program, cancer of cervix remains a major public health problem for India. We here assessed knowledge levels of female college students about cervical cancer, its risk factors, the human papillomavirus (HPV) etiologic agent and Pap (Papanicolaou) smear testing for screening. We conducted a questionnaire survey of the students (N=630), aged 17 to 24 years, in Kolkata, India. Only 20% correctly identified cervix cancer as the most prevalent female cancer in India, while 43% were aware of the ages of occurrence. Though 41% thought sexual activity to be associated with cervical cancer, its risk factors, like, smoking, having multiple sex partners, cervical infections, early onset of sexual intercourse, multiple parity were recognized by 29%, 3%, 4%, 13% and 15%, respectively. The terms Pap test and HPV had been heard by 11% and 15 % of the students, respectively, and 75% of the students desired to have protective vaccination. Bivariate analysis revealed that educational stream, standard of the college and family size were significantly associated with knowledge levels. Additionally, multivariate regression analysis indicated city students were more knowledgeable than those from outside the city. It is imperative that women gather adequate knowledge on cervical cancer for the success of any program to control the disease. Wide and effective spreading of awareness about the disease among women must form an integral part of public health policy of government.
由于印度缺乏全国性的宫颈癌筛查项目，宫颈癌仍然是印度的一个重大公共卫生问题。我们在此评估了女大学生对宫颈癌、其危险因素、人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）病原体以及用于筛查的巴氏（帕帕尼科拉乌）涂片检查的了解程度。我们对印度加尔各答年龄在17至24岁的630名学生进行了问卷调查。只有20%的人正确将宫颈癌识别为印度最常见的女性癌症，而43%的人知晓发病年龄。尽管41%的人认为性行为与宫颈癌有关，但其危险因素，如吸烟、有多个性伴侣、宫颈感染、过早开始性行为、多产，分别只有29%、3%、4%、13%和15%的人认识到。分别有11%和15%的学生听说过巴氏试验和HPV，75%的学生希望接种预防性疫苗。双变量分析显示，教育专业、大学水平和家庭规模与知识水平显著相关。此外，多变量回归分析表明城市学生比来自城外的学生知识更丰富。为了任何控制该疾病项目的成功，女性必须充分了解宫颈癌知识。在女性中广泛有效地传播关于该疾病的认识必须成为政府公共卫生政策的一个组成部分。
