Rita Giri
Tribhuwan University
Title: Knowledge regarding cervical cancer among undergraduate female student at selected college of lalitpur, Nepal
Biography
Biography: Rita Giri
Abstract
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women living in less developed regions. In Nepal, Little is known about
the knowledge regarding cervical cancer in a female young adult. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to find
out the knowledge regarding cervical cancer among undergraduate female students. Non-probability purposive sampling with
the self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect the information among 150 female students of Little Angels
College of Management, Lalitpur, Nepal. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Among
the respondents, the mean age was 19.3 ± 1.1 years. Almost all (95%) of the respondents had inadequate knowledge regarding
cervical cancer. The respondents who knew the meaning of cervical cancer were 56%. Similarly, 35% of the respondents on an
average had knowledge about the risk factor. Almost two-thirds of students knew that cervical cancer is preventable. Regarding
the preventive measures, good hygiene was told by 68.5% of respondents followed by HPV vaccine 38.3%, using condom 19.5%
and Pap smear test 8.7%. The knowledge about the HPV vaccine was only on 11.8% of respondents. There was no statistically
significant association between knowledge with selected variables (age, religion, ethnicity, family income, smoking and sexual
practice) in the study. Based on findings it is concluded that female students had inadequate knowledge regarding cervical
cancer. This result reflects the need for health awareness campaigns to the students and community people regarding cervical
cancer including the symptoms, causes, risk factors and preventive measures.