Knowledge, attitude, and practice about cervical cancer among adult women in rural Jaipur: An observational analysis

Abstract

Introduction: To identify gaps in knowledge and attitudes that can inform targeted interventions and improve cervical cancer prevention strategies, this study was designed with the objective of assessing the level of knowledge, attitude and practice related to cervical cancer among adult women and associated factors with this in rural areas of Jaipur. Materials and Methods: This community-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 adult women in village Naila, Jaipur, for a period of 1 year from December 2021 to November 2022. Systematic random sampling was used to identify the houses, and women were selected for interview via simple random sampling. Institutional Ethics Committee approval and informed consent from study participants were taken. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: The mean age of participants was 30 ± 9.7 years. Out of 300, 27 (9%) women had ever heard of cervical cancer. Most 189 (63%) women agreed to undergo screening for cervical cancer if opportunity was provided but only four (1.3%) women had practiced regular and/or yearly check-ups with doctors. Association of knowledge of cervical cancer was significant with socioeconomic status and caste (P value <0.05), while association of knowledge of cervical cancer symptoms with other sociodemographic variables was not significant (P value >0.05). Conclusion: Most of the women surveyed had poor knowledge about cervical cancer, its risk factors, signs and symptoms, causal relation with HPV, mode of transmission, screening method and prevention through HPV vaccination.