Abstract
Background: Cervical cancer is one of the leading killers of women worldwide despite the availability of screening programs and preventive HPV vaccination. Education intervention could help ease the burden of cervical cancer and associated morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the impact of an education intervention on awareness of cervical cancer, risk factors and presentation, screening, and perceived barriers to HPV vaccination among Saudi pregnant women. Methods: We conducted a comparative study pre-and post-education of 18-45 years old pregnant women. Descriptive analysis was performed, and the Chi-Square test was used to compare post-and pre -education knowledge and awareness levels with p< 0.05 for statistical significance. Results: We enrolled 400 participants, and most (39.3%) were 41 - 45 years old, 69.5% had a university degree, 52%) were unemployed, and 40.8%were non-health field workers. After the education session, the awareness and knowledge improved significantly as evidenced by a 2-4 and 1.6-3 times increase in awareness about cervical cancer risk factors (p=0.000), and symptoms (p=0.000), respectively, 1.5-3 times increase in awareness of Pap smear (p=0.000), and 2-3 times increased awareness of HPV vaccination and (p<0.005). Post-education evaluation also revealed a significant reduction in fear of HPV vaccine side-effects (p=0.000) and an increase in a good attitude towards vaccination cost (p=0.005) and effectiveness (p=0.003), which were among perceived barriers. Conclusion: Our study findings showed that educational intervention significantly improved awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer, its screening and reduced barriers to the HPV vaccination. The establishments of broader education programs, as well as screening, are recommended.