Family Medicine Residency Program, Oman Medical Specialty Board, Muscat, Oman.
Department of Family Medicine & Public Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2022 Nov;22(4):493-500. doi: 10.18295/squmj.9.2021.140. Epub 2022 Nov 7.
This study aimed to assess the knowledge of and attitude toward cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) among Omani women aged 18 years and older.
This cross-sectional survey was conducted between September 2019 and February 2020 in primary healthcare facilities throughout Oman. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to assess women's knowledge and attitude regarding cervical cancer and HPV.
A total of 805 women participated in the study (response rate: 89%). Two-thirds of the participants had heard about cervical cancer (67.5%) while fewer were aware of HPV (15.8%). Approximately one-third of the women identified HPV as a risk factor for developing cervical cancer (38.9%). Very few participants knew of HPV vaccines (10.1%). A major source of information regarding both cervical cancer and HPV was social media (33.0%), as compared to healthcare providers (16.9%). Despite the poor knowledge, almost half of the participants were open to having their daughters (47.0%) and other schoolgirls (41.2%) vaccinated.
Most participants had poor knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV, even those with a personal or family history of cervical cancer. The main source of knowledge was social media. Most participants were open to the idea of offering the HPV vaccine to their daughters and middle school-aged girls. Incorporating information about cervical cancer and HPV into school curricula and improving access to trusted medical knowledge through social media may help in enriching the public's knowledge and, possibly, correcting misinformation and related myths.
本研究旨在评估阿曼 18 岁及以上女性对宫颈癌和人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）的认知和态度。
本横断面研究于 2019 年 9 月至 2020 年 2 月在阿曼的基层医疗保健机构进行。采用自我管理问卷评估女性对宫颈癌和 HPV 的认知和态度。
共有 805 名女性参与了研究（应答率：89%）。三分之二的参与者听说过宫颈癌（67.5%），而较少的人了解 HPV（15.8%）。约三分之一的女性认为 HPV 是导致宫颈癌的危险因素（38.9%）。很少有参与者知道 HPV 疫苗（10.1%）。了解宫颈癌和 HPV 的主要信息来源是社交媒体（33.0%），而不是医疗保健提供者（16.9%）。尽管知识水平较差，但近一半的参与者愿意为女儿（47.0%）和其他女中学生（41.2%）接种疫苗。
大多数参与者对宫颈癌和 HPV 的认识较差，即使是那些有宫颈癌个人或家族史的参与者也是如此。主要的知识来源是社交媒体。大多数参与者愿意为女儿和中学年龄的女孩提供 HPV 疫苗。将宫颈癌和 HPV 的相关信息纳入学校课程，并通过社交媒体改善获取可信医学知识的途径，可能有助于丰富公众的知识，纠正错误信息和相关的误解。
