Sunil Mehra

Awareness about Human Papillomavirus Vaccine and Its Uptake among Women from North India: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study

This study aims to estimate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine usage and determine the factors for awareness about HPV vaccine among women in reproductive age group. This is a cross-sectional survey under a cervical cancer prevention study. The sample size was 1020 women, aged 15-49 years [550 in Delhi and 470 in Rohtak]. Bivariate analysis and Fisher exact test along with binary logistic regression analysis were used to determine the factors for awareness. About 18.0 % [Delhi: 24.2 % and Rohtak: 10.9 %] of the respondents had heard about the vaccine against cervical cancer. The women aged more than 30 years [AOR: 1.35; CI: 0.94, 1.94] were more likely to be aware of cervical cancer vaccine as compare to women of 30 years and less. However, the women from Rohtak [AOR: 0.90; CI: 0.48, 1.66] were less likely to be aware of vaccine against cervical cancer in reference to women aged 30 years and more [AOR: 1.61; CI: 1.01, 2.56] from Delhi. About 0.6 % [Delhi: 1.1 % and Rohtak: 0.0 %] of the respondents had received HPV vaccine. Women tend to have limited knowledge about cervical cancer vaccine and immunisation practices. The women's demographic makeup varied significantly between the two sites, i.e , Rohtak and Delhi, which had an impact on how well they understood and utilised the cervical cancer vaccination. It is worth mentioning that none of the women from Rohtak had received the immunisation. The awareness of the cervical cancer vaccine among women from the Rohtak was lower than the Delhi women.

Prevalence and Predictors of Cervical Cancer Screening among Reproductive Age Group Women: Evidence from Cross-Sectional Study in Rohtak and Delhi

The present study aims to estimate the prevalence and determine the factors for cervical cancer screening among women in the reproductive age group in Delhi and Rohtak, India. The data were utilized from a survey conducted as part of a larger study to increase the access to cervical cancer screening and care by MAMTA-Health Institute for Mother and Child in collaboration with the Health Departments of Palam, New Delhi, and Rohtak, Haryana between 2015 and 2017. Data pertaining to the socio-economic and demographic information along with the information related to cervical cancer screening were utilized for the present study. The sample size was 1020 women in reproductive age group. Descriptive statistics (percentage and frequency distribution), bivariate analysis along with multivariable analysis were done to represent the results.  The Fisher exact test was used to test the level of significance during bivariate analysis. About 35.2% [Delhi: 44.9% and Rohtak: 23.8%] of the respondents had heard about cervical cancer screening. Further about 3.9% [Delhi-2.9% and Haryana-5.1%] had screened for cervical cancer. Women who had heard about cervical cancer were five times more likely to go for screening [aOR: 5.27; CI: 2.53,10.96]. It was found that women over 30 years of age had 12.04 significantly higher  odds of going for cervical cancer screening in reference to women aged 30 years and less [aOR: 12.04; CI: 3.01,53.20]. Women from households with a monthly income of more than 15000 had 2.98  significantly higher odds of going for cervical cancer screening in reference to women from households with an income of 5000 and less [aOR : 2.98; CI: 1.12,9.09]. Findings suggest that awareness about cervical cancer screening test along with its thorough knowledge about its benefits would be an effective intervention to increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening.

Women’s Knowledge on Cervical Cancer Risk Factors and Symptoms: A Cross Sectional Study from Urban India

Early-stage cervical cancer diagnoses may be the consequence of timely medical care in the presence of symptoms which can be linked to awareness of the symptoms and risk factors. This study aims to determine the knowledge about risk factors and symptoms of cervical cancer and associated factors among women aged 20-49 years. Data were utilized from the survey under the intervention "Increasing access to cervical cancer screening and care through the community-centric continuum of care initiative in India" (2015). The sample size was 1,020 women in the age group of 20-49 years. Descriptive statistics, along with bivariate analysis, was done to represent the preliminary results. Multivariable regression analysis was used to represent the estimates. About 40.1% [Delhi: 56.9% and Rohtak: 20.4%] and 45.5% [Delhi: 52.2% and Rohtak: 37.7%] of respondents had good knowledge about risk factors and symptoms of cervical cancer, respectively. Respondents with primary educational status had an 86% significantly higher likelihood for good knowledge about identified risk factors of cervical cancer [ adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.86; CI: 1.12-3.10]. Respondents who were married or widowed/divorced/separated had significantly higher odds for good knowledge about identified risk factors and symptoms of cervical cancer in reference to respondents who were never married. Respondents from Rohtak had 72% and 35% significantly higher odds for good knowledge about identified risk factors [aOR:0.28; CI: 0.21,0.39] and symptoms [aOR:0.65; CI: 0.48,0.88] of cervical cancer, respectively, in reference to respondents from Delhi. Overall awareness about cervical cancer and Human papillomavirus (HPV) as the causative agent was low, more so in Rohtak. This is extremely worrisome as blocking HPV infection is one of the most effective ways to prevent cervical cancer. Moreover, the knowledge about the risk factors and symptoms of cervical cancer is also inadequate, particularly in women from Rohtak.