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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Sait
Khalid H
KH
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah 21589, PO Box 80215, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. khalidsait@yahoo.com
D052685:Alphapapillomavirus / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001364:Awareness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D000068857:Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, Types 6, 11, 16, 18; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D000068857:Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, Types 6, 11, 16, 18; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines