195P - Awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, cervical cancer (CC), and vaccine among females in Sultanate of Oman

Background

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most preventable cancers among women due to the existence of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. HPV vaccines reduce cervical cancer risk and protect against other HPV-associated cancers.

Methods

This a survey-based cross-sectional study that aims to evaluate the level of knowledge about HPV infection, CC and vaccine among Omani females. The survey was constructed from the NCI-HINTS survey after permission. The Arabic version of the survey was piloted and validated with good reliability score. The survey was distributed as a link in different social media platforms between August 2020- December 2020. There were 468 female participants from different regions of the Sultanate of Oman.

Results

Approximately 45% of the participants were 30-39 years old. The majority of participants (65.9%) were not aware about the need for Pap smear every three years as a screening for CC. Most of the participating females (88.4%) were willing to have Pap smears every three years if their health care provider recommended it. Few participants (22%) had heard about HPV. Most of the participants have never been examined or are aware if they have HPV infection. Almost all participants (93.8%) believe that HPV infection necessitates medical treatment. About a third (38.7%) are aware that HPV infection can cause cervical cancer and 60% females know that HPV can cause abnormal Pap smears. The vast majority (87%) of the participants have not heard of HPV vaccine as a preventive measure from CC. This study showed a significant association between age and the level of knowledge about the recent changes in the guidelines related to CC screening (p<0.05). It also demonstrates that there is no correlation between accepting to give their daughter the vaccine and their awareness of CC. Additionally, there was no significant association between age and their acceptance of doing Pap smear or their knowledge about HPV vaccine, but there is a significant correlation between age and the willingness to give the vaccine to their daughters (p<0.05).

Conclusions

Among Omani females of different age groups, there is a lack of knowledge regarding CC. In these contexts, efforts to promote HPV vaccination for cancer prevention remain critical.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The author.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

The author has declared no conflicts of interest.