Awareness, Knowledge, and Attitude Toward Cervical Cancer and HPV Prevention Among Female Medical School Students.

MECCA (Saudi Arabia); SAUDI Arabia

Early diagnosis of cervical dysplasia (pre-cancerous) with a Pap smear is preventable against cervical cancer. In nations with well-established cervical cancer screening programs, the disease is less common. In Saudi Arabia, there is a lack of knowledge and expertise about HPV and cervical cancer screening. We aim to assess female students' awareness about cervical cancer, PAP smear, and HPV as well as barriers and attitudes towards HPV vaccine at Umm Al-Qura University, KSA. A cross-sectional study was done at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Makkah Saudi Arabia on 479 female students using an online questionnaire. The majority of participants (86.4%) were aware of cervical cancer, while 40.7%, 30.5%, and 55.1% of them were aware of HPV, its vaccine, and Pap tests, respectively. The majority of the participants (59.7%) knew that cervical cancer could be a preventable disease. Only 16.5 percent were aware of when to receive the HPV vaccine. Only 7.1 percent knew when to start the PAP smear screening. The majority of individuals (72%) supported receiving the HPV vaccine. Only 4% of women who accepted a Pap smear after marriage had a relative who had cervical cancer, only 2.1 percent had received the HPV vaccine, and 4.4 percent had undergone a Pap smear. A much higher percentage of participants with a good level of knowledge were in a health sciences specialty (college). There is a need for health awareness & Educational campaigns on the importance of cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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