ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practice among medical students regarding cervical cancer risk factors, common symptoms and preventive measures
Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study
Place and Duration of Study: Foundation Medical University, Rawalpindi from 1st Jul 2016 to 30th Jun 2017
Material and Methods: A total of 173 pre clinical female student of MBBS who give consent were enrolled in the study by non-probability consecutive sampling technique. With informed written consent, data were collected on pretested questionnaire. Data were presented as frequencies and percentages
Results: Total 173 students were enrolled with response rate of 98%. Age ranged from 18-21 years. Fifty three [31%] students had family history of cervical cancer. Majority of the students 101 [59%] had heard about cervical cancer. Knowledge about etiological agent [38, 22%], HPV vaccine available for infection prevention [11, 6%] and its Pap smear screening [61, 36%] was poor. Abnormal vaginal discharge was the most common symptom [98, 57%]. Overall response of symptoms was poor. An attitude towards diagnostic measures for cervical cancer was positive. A total of 127 [74%] students responded that every adult girl should be vaccinated against cervical cancer, 137 [73%] voted for regular cytological examination however 88 [56%] were not in opinion of doing pap testing as OPD procedure
Conclusion: Our study revealed poor knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors and symptoms among female students. Awareness programs are required for early detection and treatment of this fatal cancer