Knowledge and factors associated with cervical cancer

Abstract

Introduction: cervical cancer has higher prevalence and mortality rates in developing countries, despite the implementation of preventive strategies such as HPV vaccination and early detection of precancerous lesions there is still a lack of adherence. Method: a non-experimental, narrative, literature review study was conducted. Results were obtained from PubMed, ScienciaDirect and Scielo in English and Spanish. Results: we obtained 13 studies in which we found that knowledge about cervical cancer is highly variable, with low knowledge in resource-poor countries and a lack of knowledge about early detection or prevention in countries where knowledge is higher. Higher economic and educational stability is associated with greater knowledge and greater likelihood of early detection testing. Factors found in most articles are socio-cultural factors such as fear, embarrassment and lack of time. Conclusions: there are several limitations to early detection of cervical cancer despite health systems implementing campaigns and health policies in developing countries should be strengthened due to high mortality rates.