Original Research Article
Year: 2020 | Month: August | Volume: 10 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 75-82
Awareness on Cervical Cancer among Reproductive Aged Women of Kathmandu, Nepal
Pramila Devkota1, Sakshi Aryal2, Poonam Devi Shrestha1, Rhinu Shrestha3
1Lecturer, Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences Kathmandu, Nepal
2Freelancer, Kathmandu, Nepal
3Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences Kathmandu, Nepal
Corresponding Author: Pramila Devkota
ABSTRACT
Background: Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death among women in both developed and developing countries. It is one of commonest malignancy and prime cause of cancer death among women in Nepal. Nepal Government has prioritized prevention of cervical cancer through screening but still coverage rate for cervical cancer screening service is very low due to the lack of awareness among them. So the objective of the study is to find out awareness on cervical cancer among reproductive aged women.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among reproductive aged women (15-49 years) of Budhanilkantha Municipality of Kathmandu with the sample size 173.Non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select the sample. Structured questionnaire was used and face to face interview technique was adopted for data collection. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) 16.0 version.
Result: This study revealed that only 17.9% had highest, 71.1% had moderate and 11% had lowest level of awareness on cervical cancer. More than half (58 %) of the respondents had no knowledge on causes of cervical cancer and 38.2% of the respondents answered poor perineal hygiene as the risk factor of cervical cancer. Nearly cent percent (98.8%) of the respondents were unaware about the appropriate age for giving vaccine against cervical cancer. Similarly 36.4% answered lower abdominal pain as the major symptoms of cervical cancer whereas same number of respondents were unaware of sign and symptoms. Only 26.6 % heard about screening test for cervical cancer prevention and 82.7% had not done any screening test in their life time. The study showed that there is association between level of awareness and marital status, age of marriage, occupation and family history.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that there is need for the implementation of awareness programs on cervical cancer and its preventive measures in the community level.
Key words: Awareness, Cervical Cancer, Reproductive aged Women