Awareness of cervical cancer and practice of Papanicolou smears among adult women availing health services or visiting a rural maternity hospital, Ramnagara District, Karnataka, India

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dc.contributor.authorKona, Chandralekhaen_US
dc.contributor.authorJoseph, Merlynen_US
dc.contributor.authorVarghese, Jilshyen_US
dc.contributor.authorAksha, Maryen_US
dc.contributor.authorJoseph, Anjuen_US
dc.contributor.authorJose, Riaen_US
dc.contributor.authorJohnson, Avita Roseen_US
dc.date.accessioned2020-10-16T07:59:49Z
dc.date.available2020-10-16T07:59:49Z
dc.date.issued2019-11
dc.description.abstractBackground: Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Almost 87% of cervical cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. The study was conducted to assess the awareness of cervical cancer and practice of Papanicolou (Pap) smears among women availing health services or visiting a rural maternity hospital, Karnataka.Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted using a 50-item interview schedule. The interview was administered to women >18 years of age who availed services at the hospital and their caretakers.Results: Mean age of the 158 women interviewed was 32.68±13.7 years. Only 21% of women had heard about cervical cancer. Only 11.4% knew at least one symptom and 1.9% knew one risk factor of cervical cancer. Most of the women (99%) were not aware about prevention of cervical cancer. Only 4% of the women had heard about Pap smears and 3% of the women had undergone a Pap smear test.Conclusions: Women in our study had very poor awareness of cervical cancer and practice of Pap smears. Gainfully employed women (OR=32; 8.8-111.2) and women who reported cervical cancer among family members or friends (OR=116; 20.2-665.4).  were more likely to have heard about cervical cancer. This study indicates a need to increase the awareness on cervical cancer and its prevention especially regarding Pap smears among rural women in Karnataka.en_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Community Health, St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, Karnataka, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.citationKona Chandralekha, Joseph Merlyn, Varghese Jilshy, Aksha Mary, Joseph Anju, Jose Ria, Johnson Avita Rose. Awareness of cervical cancer and practice of Papanicolou smears among adult women availing health services or visiting a rural maternity hospital, Ramnagara District, Karnataka, India. International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2019 Nov; 8(11): 4303-4308en_US
dc.identifier.issn2320-1770
dc.identifier.issn2320-1789
dc.identifier.placeIndiaen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/207145
dc.languageenen_US
dc.publisherMedip Academyen_US
dc.relation.issuenumber11en_US
dc.relation.volume8en_US
dc.source.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20194847en_US
dc.subjectAwarenessen_US
dc.subjectCervical canceren_US
dc.subjectCross-sectional studyen_US
dc.subjectPapanicolou smearen_US
dc.subjectPracticesen_US
dc.titleAwareness of cervical cancer and practice of Papanicolou smears among adult women availing health services or visiting a rural maternity hospital, Ramnagara District, Karnataka, Indiaen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
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