Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding cervical cancer screening among women in the Dindaeng community, Bangkok, Thailand: a cross-sectional community-based study.

OBJECTIVES

To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding cervical cancer screening among women in Bangkok's Dindaeng community and identify factors influencing screening uptake.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, community-based survey.

SETTING

Primary care level; conducted in a high-density, low-income urban community in Bangkok, Thailand.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 450 women aged 25-65 years were recruited using convenience sampling. After excluding ineligible participants (eg, prior hysterectomy), 428 women completed the questionnaire. All participants were literate in Thai and resided in the study area.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome was a history of cervical cancer screening (ever screened vs never screened). Secondary outcomes included frequency of screening, barriers to screening and level of knowledge regarding cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV).

RESULTS

Among 428 participants (mean age 47.9±11.2 years), 65.4% reported ever having been screened, but only 19.1% adhered to regular screening intervals. The most common barriers to screening were the absence of symptoms (54.7%) and fear of the procedure (42.1%). Only 31.8% correctly identified HPV as the cause of cervical cancer, and 23.8% were aware of the HPV vaccine. Higher knowledge scores were associated with having fewer children (adjusted OR (AOR) = 10.71; 95% CI: 1.29 to 89.12), while oral contraceptive use was negatively associated with high knowledge scores (AOR=0.14; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.74).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite a moderate rate of screening uptake, consistent adherence and knowledge regarding cervical cancer and its prevention remain suboptimal. Targeted community health education and structural interventions are needed to improve awareness and promote regular screening in low-income urban settings.