Easwaran Vigneshwaran, Shorog Eman Mohammed, Alshahrani Almaha Ali, Mohammad Asif Ansari Shaik, Sadiq Mantargi Mohammad Jaffar, Alavudeen Sirajudeen Shaik, Khan Noohu Abdulla, Akhtar Md Sayeed, Almeleebia Tahani Musleh, Alshahrani Sultan Mohammed
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy Program, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah 21442, Saudi Arabia.
Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Oct 22;11(20):2798. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11202798.
Despite the availability of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines and screening facilities at various health centers in Saudi Arabia, the annual death rate due to cervical cancer is high. Therefore, knowledge and awareness are essential for self-care and educating others, particularly among healthcare students. The present descriptive, cross-sectional study explored female pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to cervical cancer. A total of 140 students participated in the survey. The survey was conducted for the period between April 2022 to September 2023. We observed a good knowledge score and positive attitudes among 8.5% and 93.5% of participants, respectively. A total of 10% of the study participants reported good practice scores. Most participants had never been screened for cervical cancer (94.3%). Among the non-screened subjects, feeling healthy and lacking information were the participants' significant reasons for not screening for cervical cancer. A positive history of cancer related to smoking significantly impacted the knowledge score ( = 0.050). The current study reveals that healthcare awareness programs for cervical cancer and HPV vaccination are necessary at the level of educational institutions to improve public health.
尽管沙特阿拉伯各健康中心提供了人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）疫苗和筛查设施，但宫颈癌的年死亡率仍然很高。因此，知识和意识对于自我护理以及教育他人至关重要，尤其是在医学生中。本描述性横断面研究探讨了女性药学专业学生对宫颈癌的知识、态度和行为。共有140名学生参与了调查。调查在2022年4月至2023年9月期间进行。我们分别观察到8.5%和93.5%的参与者有良好的知识得分和积极的态度。共有10%的研究参与者报告有良好的行为得分。大多数参与者从未接受过宫颈癌筛查（94.3%）。在未接受筛查的受试者中，感觉健康和缺乏信息是他们不进行宫颈癌筛查的重要原因。与吸烟相关的癌症阳性病史对知识得分有显著影响（P = 0.050）。当前研究表明，在教育机构层面开展宫颈癌健康意识项目和HPV疫苗接种对于改善公众健康是必要的。
