Survey of cervical cancer and precancerous lesion prevention knowledge within community health service centers in Shanghai, China

To study deficiencies in knowledge of the general public health-care professionals in community health service centers regarding the prevention of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer. In addition, this study examined the key content of training required for primary health-care personnel to prevent cervical precancerous lesion and cervical cancer. A questionnaire was distributed among 172 medical staff personnel (the ratio of general practitioners and nurses was 1:1 in five community health service centers in Shanghai, China. This questionnaire assessed four knowledge areas of cervical cancer prevention using 10 single-choice questions. Out the 172 questionnaires distributed, 105 (61.05%) were completed correctly. No statistically significant difference in the percentage of complete correct answers among the five community health service centers was seen (P = .06). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the percentage of correct answers among the three age groups surveyed: age ≤35 years, 36–45 years, and ≥46 years (P = .12). We did find a statistically significant difference in the percentage of correct answers between general practitioners and nurses (P = .01) and between staff with master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, and associate's degrees (P = .03). General practitioners and nurses in community health service centers in Shanghai require additional education on the secondary prevention of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer. The health knowledge related to human papillomavirus also needs to improve. Nurses and medical staff with lower degrees have insufficient awareness of the prevention of precancerous lesions of the cervix and cervical cancer; these two groups should be prioritized for additional training.