Knowledge and attitudes of cervical cancer screening among female high school teachers in Hail city: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is a primary preventable cancer. The current study aims to assess relevant knowledge and attitude of cervical cancer screening among female high school teachers in Hail city, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among female high school teachers in the Hail Province of Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that Pap smear screening every 3–5 years with appropriate follow-up can reduce cervical cancer incidence by up to 80%, and abnormal results may suggest the presence of precancerous changes, allowing examination and possible preventive treatment. RESULTS: Data from 387 participants were included in the final analysis. The study participants were female high school teachers. Mean age of the participants was 41.4 ± 5.3 years. Only 42% participants appeared to have good level of knowledge about cervical cancer. Fifty-eight percentage of females had not heard of it before. Only 22 (5.7%) participants had undergone Pap smear testing. A total of 182 (47.0%) participants believed that Pap smear test is a useful test and would undergo the test. Around 139 females (35.9%) will be allowing their daughters to get the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase cervical cancer knowledge are needed in Hail city in Saudi Arabia. In addition, further research is needed to understand and assess the effectiveness of different strategies to improve attitudes regarding cervical cancer, in order to increase the uptake of screening services.