Alnafisah Rawan A, Alsuhaibani Remah, Alharbi Munirah A, Alsohaibani Azizah A, Ismail Amal Ahmed
College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Unaizah, Saudi Arabia.
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2019 Oct 1;20(10):2965-2969. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.10.2965.
Cervical cancer is a preventable and curable disease if early diagnosed; however, most of the cases present late; hence, there is a need to raise the awareness about cervical cancer and to establish screening programs. We aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward screening and to determine the current status of awareness among women.
We conducted a cross-sectional study among 2,220 Saudi women in the Qassim region using a validated questionnaire that gathers data on socio-demographics, knowledge and attitude domains.
Among the participants, 952 (42.9%) were between 31 and 45 years old; most were married and highly educated 1,754 (79%), and showed moderate knowledge about cervical cancer symptoms, prevention, and screening. The most reported symptom was non-cyclic bleeding by 511 (23%), while prolonged use of contraceptives 289 (13%) was the more selected risk factor by participants. We found that 1,881 (84.7%) of women had not undergone a Pap smear test, and 805 participants (42.8%) expressed their refusal to attend for it, citing various reasons; the most reported was that they do not know someone who tried pap smear. A significant negative correlation was found between the level of knowledge and acceptance to vaccinate daughters at school age against human papillomavirus.
Saudi women in the Qassim region have moderate awareness of cervical cancer but negative attitudes toward screening. Awareness campaigns are needed to promote knowledge and improve pap smear attendance to eliminate negative perceptions and beliefs.
宫颈癌如果能早期诊断，是一种可预防和治愈的疾病；然而，大多数病例发现时已处于晚期；因此，有必要提高对宫颈癌的认识并建立筛查项目。我们旨在评估对筛查的知识和态度，并确定女性的当前认知状况。
我们在卡西姆地区对2220名沙特女性进行了一项横断面研究，使用经过验证的问卷收集社会人口统计学、知识和态度领域的数据。
在参与者中，952人（42.9%）年龄在31至45岁之间；大多数已婚且受教育程度高，有1754人（79%），对宫颈癌症状、预防和筛查有一定了解。最常报告的症状是不规则出血，有511人（23%），而长期使用避孕药具289人（13%）是参与者选择最多的风险因素。我们发现，1881名（84.7%）女性未进行过巴氏涂片检查，805名参与者（42.8%）表示拒绝进行该项检查，并给出了各种理由；最常提到的是她们不认识做过巴氏涂片检查的人。在知识水平与接受为学龄期女儿接种人乳头瘤病毒疫苗之间发现了显著的负相关。
卡西姆地区的沙特女性对宫颈癌有一定认识，但对筛查持消极态度。需要开展宣传活动以增进知识并提高巴氏涂片检查的参与率，消除负面观念和信念。
