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Cervical Cancer Awareness and Attitude Towards Cervical Cancer Screening and Human Papillomavirus Vaccines Among Urban Women of Karachi, Pakistan

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women under 50 years of age in Pakistan. The current study was designed to assess the level of awareness through educational outreach presentations about cervical cancer, Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test, and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Shahnaz, Saira, Fricovsky, Eduardo, Anwar, Ramesha, Arain, Mudassar Iqbal
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10475580/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37671214
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.42970
Descripción
Sumario:Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women under 50 years of age in Pakistan. The current study was designed to assess the level of awareness through educational outreach presentations about cervical cancer, Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test, and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in Karachi, Pakistan. Women from different urban hospitals were enrolled. Participants participated in a 45-minute presentation on cervical cancer awareness led by student pharmacists from Nazeer Hussain University, Karachi. A pre-and post-test was administered to assess the impact of the intervention. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the findings, and a t-test was used for matched comparison, and a p-value <0.05 for statistical significance. A total of 150 women participated in the study. The study found that Pakistani women living in urban settings were less knowledgeable about the causes of cervical cancer and prevention. After the presentation, we observed a 45% increase in knowledge, and 31% of participants said they would obtain a Pap smear test in the next six months. Supervised pharmacy student-led presentations on cervical cancer educational awareness that significantly impacted women participants. Pharmacists can play a key role in reducing cervical cancer deaths through increased awareness, education, prevention, and immunization.