Awareness regarding Cervical Cancer among Reproductive-Aged Women in Banke, Nepal

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally and is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in low- and middle-income countries. Early detection through screening can prevent the disease, but a lack of knowledge about its risk factors and prevention remains a barrier. This cross-sectional descriptive study was done among 310 reproductive-aged women by using the method of purposive sampling to determine the awareness on Cervical Cancer among Reproductive-aged Women of in Kohalpur Municipality, Banke District, Nepal. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results using SPSS software. It was found that the awareness regarding cervical cancer was poor in 67.09%. Awareness regarding risk factors such as multiple sexual partners (75.80%) and early sexual exposure (75.80%) was high, whereas the awareness related to prevention, that is, HPV vaccination (53.22%) and screening (59.68%) was low. Most of the participants (84.52%) were aware that cervical cancer is preventable; however, awareness regarding screening and vaccination age was limited. This study suggests the need for an effective awareness program in cervical cancer. It is important to educate the participants about screening and vaccination, especially in rural settings, to decrease the incidence of cervical cancer in Nepal.