TY - JOUR
T1 - Knowledge, attitude, preventive practices and utilization of cervical cancer screening among women in Nepal
T2 - A community-based cross-sectional study
AU - Shrestha, Aamod Dhoj
AU - Gyawali, Bishal
AU - Shrestha, Archana
AU - Shrestha, Sadeep
AU - Neupane, Dinesh
AU - Ghimire, Sarita
AU - Campbell, Christine
AU - Kallestrup, Per
N1 - Funding Information:
This study is part of research work toward a PhD degree (ADS) at Aarhus University and is funded by a university scholarship. The funding organizations do not have any role in the study design, the data collection, analysis, interpretation, or in the reporting of the results.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - Background Cervical cancer continues to be a global public health concern and a leading cause of cancer deaths among Nepalese women. In spite of the availability of screening and treatment services in Nepal, the utilization of screening has been low. This study investigated knowledge, attitude, preventive practices and utilization of cervical cancer screening among women in a semi-urban area of Pokhara Metropolitan City of Nepal. Methods A community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 729 women 30-60 years of age, between April and June 2019. Participants were selected by systematic random sampling, and a door-to-door home visit was conducted for data collection. A pretested interviewer-administered Nepali questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic variables, knowledge, attitude and preventive practices regarding cervical cancer screening. Results The mean age of the participants was 45.9 years (SD ±7.7); the majority were married (86.7%). Among the participants, 44.9% were ever screened for cervical cancer. However, only 10.4% of participants received timely repeated screening for cervical cancer. The median knowledge score achieved by participants was 2.0 [interquartile range (IQR) 1-4] on a scale of maximum score 36, the median attitude score was 31.0 (IQR 29-32) on a scale of 40 and the median preventive practice score was 3.0 (IQR 3-4) on a scale of five. Conclusion This study showed low knowledge and low utilization of cervical cancer screening among women in Nepal. We recommend a community-based educational intervention to educate and empower women to increase knowledge and utilization of cervical cancer screening.
AB - Background Cervical cancer continues to be a global public health concern and a leading cause of cancer deaths among Nepalese women. In spite of the availability of screening and treatment services in Nepal, the utilization of screening has been low. This study investigated knowledge, attitude, preventive practices and utilization of cervical cancer screening among women in a semi-urban area of Pokhara Metropolitan City of Nepal. Methods A community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 729 women 30-60 years of age, between April and June 2019. Participants were selected by systematic random sampling, and a door-to-door home visit was conducted for data collection. A pretested interviewer-administered Nepali questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic variables, knowledge, attitude and preventive practices regarding cervical cancer screening. Results The mean age of the participants was 45.9 years (SD ±7.7); the majority were married (86.7%). Among the participants, 44.9% were ever screened for cervical cancer. However, only 10.4% of participants received timely repeated screening for cervical cancer. The median knowledge score achieved by participants was 2.0 [interquartile range (IQR) 1-4] on a scale of maximum score 36, the median attitude score was 31.0 (IQR 29-32) on a scale of 40 and the median preventive practice score was 3.0 (IQR 3-4) on a scale of five. Conclusion This study showed low knowledge and low utilization of cervical cancer screening among women in Nepal. We recommend a community-based educational intervention to educate and empower women to increase knowledge and utilization of cervical cancer screening.
KW - Attitude
KW - Cervical cancer
KW - Knowledge
KW - Nepal
KW - Non-communicable diseases
KW - Practice
KW - Screening
KW - Utilization
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U2 - 10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000670
DO - 10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000670
M3 - Article
C2 - 34871200
AN - SCOPUS:85121034766
SN - 0959-8278
VL - 31
SP - 73
EP - 81
JO - European Journal of Cancer Prevention
JF - European Journal of Cancer Prevention
IS - 1
ER -