Abstract
Introduction: Cytological screening, the Papanicolaou smear (Pap smear) has been one of the most successful public health measures available for cancer screening and prevention. The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge and the attitude toward the cervical cancer screening (the Pap smear) among women in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: a cross-sectional study, self-administered questionnaires were sent out to school teachers, relative, friends between the period November to December 2011, a random sample of 1023 women most of them aged between 16 and 45 years old were recruited. Result: We found 37% of the population never heard about the Pap smear test, and of those who heard about the test; 36% knew through the media. The majority of the married population (95%) does not perform the Pap smear test regularly and most of them never had PAP smear done. The main reason for not having a Pap smear was the lack of awareness. Conclusion: There is a need to educate and promote awareness of cervical cancer in this population in a different ways including the media, medical educational campaigns, brochures. etc. [Abdulrahim Gari; Ahmed Asiri; Amr Mohammed; Fahad Al-Malki; Mohammad Melibari; Mohammed AlSheikh; Moayad Kalantan; Nader Al Qethami; Shaddy Futtiny; Sultan Al-Essi; Yasser Al Shomrany and Ziyad Alihiby. The awareness of the HPV's association with cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine among Saudi females. Life Sci J 2012;9(3):2538-2546]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 369