title: Knowledge of cervical cancer in teenage school children in Trinidad.
abstract: Students from five secondary schools in Trinidad were randomly selected to enter into a survey determining their knowledge of cervical cancer. Four hundred and seventy four (95%) students aged between 14-19, participated. The majority of the students were boys. Twenty-nine per cent of the students had never heard of either cervical cancer or a cervical smear. Among those who had some knowledge of the disease, 11% had accurate knowledge of the location of the cervix and approximately 85%, composed largely of boys were unable to identify the cervix on a diagram of the female reproductive tract. More girls than boys knew that a smear test involved an "internal examination. Trinidad has a high incidence of cervical cancer, and this study was designed to provide an infrastructure for planning health education workshops on cervical cancer, in the young generation of Trinidad and Tobago. The study revealed a lack of information on cervical cancer in teenage school children and the need for introduction of effective sex education programmes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, W.I.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Orrett
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balbirsing
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Pinto-Pereira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006285:Health Planning; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014300:Trinidad and Tobago; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears