A Cross-sectional Study of Ovarian Cancer Knowledge and Its Determinants among Female Employees in a Public University, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Ovarian cancer is recognizable as the fourth leading cancer in Malaysia. Knowledge on ovarian cancer is low among Malaysian women, which may affect their interpretation of early symptoms and delay presentation of ovarian cancer cases. The aim of this study was to determine the level of ovarian cancer knowledge and its determinants among female nonacademic staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia. Methods: Across- sectional study was designed to collect the data from 366 participants via a validated self-administered questionnaire, from April to July 2015. Results: The mean age of participants was 34 ± 7.89. Most of the sample was Malay (96.4%), married (61.5%). A total of 51.4% of respondents reported low knowledge level. Knowledge of ovarian cancer was significantly associated with marital status (p<0.001), age (p=0.03), interest to know about ovarian cancer (p<0.001) and level of education (p= 0.02) . Participant’ age and having heard or read about ovarian cancer were predictors to low knowledge, with the odds ratios of (OR=1.031, 95% CI= 1.002-1.061, P=0.03) and (OR=0.549, 95% CI= 0.356-0.846, P < 0.00) respectively. Conclusion: Our findings showed that more than half of female nonacademic staff in UPM was not well knowledgeable about ovarian cancer, which needs an educational intervention to improve knowledge among this group.