Attitudes, knowledge, and practices in relation to cervical cancer and its screening among women in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices related to cervical cancer screening, and its underlying etiology and preventive measures among women living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: Six hundred self-administered questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected women from different groups in the general population of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These questionnaires were sent out to school teachers, relative, friends, as well as, through direct interview of patients visiting the outpatient clinic while awaiting for their appointments at the King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital from January to March 2008. There were 500 respondents (83.3%).

RESULTS: The knowledge of the human papilloma virus (HPV) as an etiological agent for cervical cancer was expressed by 72 (14.4%), and the HPV vaccine by 49 (9.8%) of the respondents. Whereas, 338 (67.6%) of the respondents were aware of the Pap smear, however, only 84 (16.8%) had undergone the test. The main reason for not having a Pap smear was the lack of awareness.

CONCLUSION: The awareness on cervical cancer among women in Saudi Arabia is far behind that in the developed countries. There is a need to educate and promote awareness of cervical cancer in this population.