Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) toward Cervical Cancer Screening among Adama Science and Technology University Female Students, Ethiopia

Background. Cervical cancer is a complication of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Eighty percent of the cases occur in low-resource countries. According to the 2009 World Health Organization report, the age-adjusted incidence rate of cervical cancer in Ethiopia was 35.9 per 100,000 patients with 7619 annual number of new cases and 60-81 deaths every year. The study is aimed at assessing the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice concerning cervical cancer among female students at Adama Science and Technology University. Methodology. An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 667Adama Science and Technology University female students. A simple random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results. About 404 (60.6%) of the participants heard about cervical cancer, 478 (71.7%) had positive attitude towards cervical cancer screening, and only 15 (2.2%) participants were screened for cervical cancer. Lack of information about cervical cancer was the most reported reason for not attending to cervical cancer screening. Conclusion and Recommendation. The study showed that there was low knowledge on cervical cancer and screening for premalignant lesion among women. There is a need to promote and encourage women to early cervical cancer screening at precancerous stage by informing their susceptibility to cervical cancer.

Association of Late Marriage and Low Childbirth with Cervical Cancer Screening among Korean Women: Results from a Nationwide Survey

This study aimed to identify the association of marriage and childbirth with the adherence to cervical cancer screening among young adult women. Data across four years (2017–2020) of the cross-sectional Korean National Cancer Screening Survey were used. For measuring the adherence to cervical cancer screening, we used the cervical cancer screening rate with recommendation, which was defined as the percentage of women in the population eligible for screening who have had a cervical cancer screening within the past two years. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the association between marriage and adherence to cervical cancer screening. Overall, 3925 women aged 20–39 years were analyzed. Of these, 39.1% were screened for cervical cancer (26.6% unmarried and 57.1% married women). The married women had significantly higher adherence to cervical cancer screening than unmarried women (adjusted odds ratio = 2.80, 95% CI: 2.99–3.44). Compared with unmarried women, adherence to cervical cancer screening was significantly more likely to increase (p for trend, <0.001) in married women with an increased number of births. Our study confirmed that marriage and childbirth influence adherence to cervical cancer screening, suggesting that unmarried women may be vulnerable to cervical cancer.

Evaluation of Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) and Conventional Pap’s Smear Test as Methods of Cervical Cancer Screening

Background: Cervical cancer screening can actually prevent most cervical cancers and also facilitates early detection which allows fruitful treatment.Objective: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of Liquid-based cytology (LBC) with conventional Pap smear test.Methods: This crosssectional study was conducted between March 2015 and June 2017. A total of 72 women participated in this study attending the Out-Patient Department (OPD) of Gynaecology (Colposcopy Clinic) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh, for VIA test. The smears prepared by the conventional Pap smear method and Liquid-based cytology method were observed by two independent observers in Department of Pathology of the same institution.Results: The mean age of the patients was 40.22±12.29 years. Considering histopathology as gold standard, in conventional Pap smear preparation our data suggested its sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 92.2%, accuracy 91.7%, positive predictive value 58.3% and negative predictive value 98.3%. In contrast, in Liquid-based cytology, we found its sensitivity 75.0%, specificity 90.6%, accuracy 88.9%, positive predictive value 50.0% and negative predictive value 96.7%.Conclusion: LBC has practical advantages over conventional preparation by producing monolayer of cells, smaller area to screen, reproducibility and availability of doing adjunct molecular techniques from residual sample. However, conventional preparation shows better sensitivity and positive predictive value and almost similar specificity, negative predictive value and accuracy with LBC.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 06 No. 01 January’22 Page: 36-40

Hands-On Training Courses for Cervical Cancer Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Procedures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

In 2018, there were approximately 570,000 new cases of cervical cancer worldwide. More than 85% of cases occurred in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), primarily because of poor access to screening and a limited number of medical providers trained to diagnose and treat cervical precancerous lesions. Our objective was to provide locally arranged, hands-on training courses for medical providers in LMICs to learn to perform cervical cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment procedures. The courses included didactic lectures and hands-on training stations using low-cost simulation models developed by bioengineers and students at Rice University in Houston, TX, United States, and the Malawi Polytechnic in Blantyre, Malawi. The hands-on training stations included visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), colposcopy, cervical biopsy, endocervical curettage, loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), and thermal ablation. Provider pre- and postcourse confidence levels in performing the procedures were evaluated. From February 2017 to January 2020, we arranged 15 hands-on training courses in seven cities across six countries (El Salvador, Mozambique, Trinidad and Tobago, Lesotho, Malawi, and Nepal). Overall, there were 506 participants. The average number of participants per course was 38 (range 19-92). The participants included doctors, nurses, and midwives. The course duration varied from 1 to 3 days. Increased confidence in performing VIA, colposcopy and cervical biopsy, ablation, and LEEP was reported by 69%, 71%, 61%, and 76% of participants, respectively. Our findings suggest that locally arranged, hands-on cervical cancer prevention training courses in LMICs can improve provider confidence in performing cervical cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment procedures. These courses are part of a larger strategy to build local capacity for delivering and improving cervical cancer prevention services in LMICs.