Yanwadee Chitkoolsamphan

Knowledge and Attitudes of Pregnant Women toward Cervical Cancer Screening during Pregnancy

To assess the knowledge and attitudes towards cervical cancer screening (CCS) during pregnancy among pregnant women. This prospective cohort study was conducted at the antenatal clinic of Thammasat University Hospital, Pathum Thani, Thailand from February to September 2024. Participants were pregnant women aged 18 to 45 years old who attended their first antenatal visit at a gestational age of less than 20 weeks. After counseling, written informed consent was signed after well understood of the study. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of knowledge about cervical cancer, attitudes towards screening and interest in undergoing screening during pregnancy was used. A total of 384 participants were recruited. The average maternal age was 30 years. Two-thirds (254/384) of the participants had at least a bachelor's degree, and over half (197/384) had a high salary. Only 42.7 (164/384) percent had previously undergone CCS with 70 (115/164) percent screened in the past 3 years. Knowledge scores averaged 8.9 out of 15 with many participants unaware of key facts, including the use of the Pap smear for screening. Although most participants (85.2-97.4%) had a positive attitude towards CCS during pregnancy, only 57(219/384) percent were interested in undergoing CCS during pregnancy. Factors such as prior screening and knowledge level were significant determinants of interest in CCS. Pregnant women had moderate knowledge and a good attitude towards cervical cancer and CCS. Less than half of pregnant women uninterested in CCS during pregnancy with the reason of prior CCS before pregnancy and inconvenience.

Sexual Dysfunction in Patient’s Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer in Comparison to the Healthy Female Population

Aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the prevalence female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in cervical cancer (CC) survivors to a healthy female population. This observational prospective trial was conducted at Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand, between April 2023 and February 2024. Participants were CC survival who attended an outpatient cancer clinic. Subject with age between 30 and 60 years old and engaged in sexual intercourse at least once within the last 4 weeks were recruited. The control group was women who attended outpatient gynecologic clinic for routine pelvic examination with no serious medical diseases and no malignancy. The female sexual function index (FSFI) was applied to all the participants during the survey. Other demographic data of the participants were collected. A total of 116 cases were enrolled in the study. Participants were equally divided into the study and control groups. The mean age and BMI of participants were 49.4 years and 24.7 kg/m², respectively without statistical significance. The FSD's prevalence of the CC survival was significantly higher than control group (34.5 and 10.4 percent, respectively). CC survivors reported significantly poorer outcomes in the domains of lubrication, sexual satisfaction, and pain compared to the control group. The prevalence rates of CC survival and control group was 34.5 and 10.4 percent, respectively. Three out of six FSFI domains namely lubrication, satisfaction, and pain showed more problematic for CC survivors compared to control group.