Knowledge, attitudes and practices vis-a-vis cervical cancer among registered nurses at the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer among women in Thailand and in almost all patients, human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found. Various international studies indicate that the knowledge level vis-à-vis cervical cancer and HPV in the general population as well as healthcare professionals is low, but no such study has yet been done in Thailand. OBJECTIVES: Our study's aim was to ascertain the level of knowledge, the attitudes and practices regarding cervical cancer among registered nurses working in Srinagarind (university) Hospital in an urban setting in Northeast Thailand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Systematic sampling was used and self-administered questionnaires were sent to 149 registered nurses; 133 (89.3%) of whom responded. Data were processed using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentages and the 95% CIs. RESULTS: The respondents' averaged 34.6 years of age (median, 33; range, 21-56) while 54.6% had sexual partners and 61.4% had had normal deliveries. The respective median knowledge score, interquartile range and mean knowledge score and range for cervical cancer vs. HPV vs. cervical cancer prevention were 11.00, 5.0, 10.14 (95%CI 9.6, 10.7), 0-15 vs. 4.00, 2.0, 3.58 (95%CI 3.5-4.2), 0-7 vs. 8, 3.00, 7.5 (95%CI 7.1-7.9), 1-11. 66.2% would like to have prophylactic HPV vaccines because they thought that it would prevent HPV infection (77.3%) or prevent cervical cancer (39.1%), which are major misunderstandings. CONCLUSION: Almost all of the registered nurses working at Srinagarind Hospital have a moderate level of knowledge regarding cervical cancer and HPV but there are still some major misunderstandings; thus, educational pamphlets, notices and hospital announcements would be useful in increasing their knowledge.