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Community-Based Health Education has Positive Influence on the Attitude to Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in Rural Nepal

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Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of cervical cancer among women in rural Nepal and explore the feasibility and impact of a community-based awareness program on cervical cancer. Community-based educational meetings on cervical cancer and its prevention were conducted among women’s groups in rural Nepal. Through a questionnaire, the women’s baseline knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, and perceived risk of cervical cancer were identified. The willingness to participate in cervical cancer screening was compared before and after the educational meeting. The meetings were followed by a cervical cancer screening program. Among the 122 participants at the educational meeting, only 6 % had heard of cervical cancer. Their baseline knowledge of risk factors and symptoms was poor. The proportion of women willing to participate in cervical screening increased from 15.6 to 100 % after attending the educational meeting. All the study subjects participated in the screening program. Additionally, the study participants recruited a further 222 of their peers for screening. Poor knowledge of cervical cancer among women in rural Nepal highlights the urgency of public awareness programs for cervical cancer at a national level. A community-based awareness program can change women’s attitude to cervical screening, and women’s groups can play a major role in promoting participation in cervical cancer screening programs.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dhulikhel hospital and the staff at the Outreach Health Centers for providing the technical support to conduct this study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (KUSMS), Dhulikhel Hospital, Kavre, Nepal

    Sunila Shakya

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s and Women’s Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Sunila Shakya, Jan Egil Afset, Anna Bofin & Solveig Tingulstad

  3. Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (KUSMS), Dhulikhel Hospital, Kavre, Nepal

    Biraj Man Karmacharya

  4. Department of Microbiology, St. Olav’s Hospital, 7006, Trondheim, Norway

    Jan Egil Afset

  5. Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Bjørn Olav Åsvold

  6. Department of Endocrinology, St. Olav’s Hospital, 7006, Trondheim, Norway

    Bjørn Olav Åsvold & Unni Syversen

  7. Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Unni Syversen

  8. Department of Gynecologic Oncology, St. Olav’s Hospital, 7006, Trondheim, Norway

    Solveig Tingulstad

Authors
  1. Sunila Shakya
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  2. Biraj Man Karmacharya
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  3. Jan Egil Afset
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  4. Anna Bofin
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  5. Bjørn Olav Åsvold
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  6. Unni Syversen
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  7. Solveig Tingulstad
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Correspondence to Sunila Shakya.

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Shakya, S., Karmacharya, B.M., Afset, J.E. et al. Community-Based Health Education has Positive Influence on the Attitude to Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in Rural Nepal. J Canc Educ 31, 547–553 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0863-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0863-7

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