Department of Genetics, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, 124001, India.
Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
J Cancer Educ. 2021 Aug;36(4):844-849. doi: 10.1007/s13187-020-01712-6.
Lack of awareness of screening methods, risk factors, and symptoms may lead to late diagnosis and poor prognosis of cervical cancer. The plan of this study was to assess the level of awareness about cervical cancer and HPV vaccine among females of rural and urban areas of Haryana, India. This cross-sectional study was performed using a comprehensive self-designed questionnaire on 1500 women of urban (700) and rural (800) background aged 18-65 years, evaluating their knowledge for cervical cancer and screening, HPV infection and its preventive measure, and symptoms and risk factors. Data obtained was analyzed and interpreted by using simple percentages and bar charts. Most of the participants were aged between 21 and 30 years and had college level education. Majority of the women from rural areas had poor knowledge about cervical cancer (55%) and its screening (75%), HPV infection (87.5%), and HPV vaccine (95%) compared with urban areas. Knowledge about symptoms and risk factors was very low in both rural and urban areas. Whatever little knowledge the women had about cervical cancer was from college education, friends, neighbors, relatives, and medical practitioner or doctors. The survey pointed to the critical need to educate women about cervical cancer and its early diagnosis, related risk factors, symptoms, and preventive measures which can be achieved by launching extensive awareness programs for educating females about cervical cancer in India.
对筛查方法、风险因素和症状的认识不足可能导致宫颈癌的诊断延迟和预后不良。本研究的计划是评估印度哈里亚纳邦农村和城市地区女性对宫颈癌和 HPV 疫苗的认识水平。本横断面研究使用综合自制问卷对 1500 名年龄在 18-65 岁的城市（700 名）和农村（800 名）背景的女性进行了研究，评估了她们对宫颈癌和筛查、HPV 感染及其预防措施以及症状和风险因素的了解。通过使用简单的百分比和条形图对获得的数据进行分析和解释。大多数参与者年龄在 21-30 岁之间，具有大学学历。与城市地区相比，农村地区的大多数女性对宫颈癌（55%）及其筛查（75%）、HPV 感染（87.5%）和 HPV 疫苗（95%）的了解较差。农村和城市地区对症状和风险因素的了解非常有限。女性对宫颈癌的了解很少，主要来自大学教育、朋友、邻居、亲戚以及医疗从业者或医生。该调查指出，迫切需要对印度女性进行有关宫颈癌及其早期诊断、相关风险因素、症状和预防措施的教育，这可以通过开展广泛的教育女性了解宫颈癌的宣传活动来实现。
