Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate Al Baha women’s knowledge regarding relative risk factors for cervical cancer and to analyze whether or not they knew about its screening importance.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out over 2 months using an online questionnaire, with a total of 384 participants surveyed. Women aged 18 years and above living in Al Baha, including both Saudi nationals and non-Saudi residents, were included in this study.
Results: A total of 384 women participated in the study. Of these, 81.2% of the participants had a moderate to high overall knowledge of cervical cancer despite showing gaps regarding specific risk factors such as smoking and human papillomavirus transmission. Participants reported favorable attitudes toward screening (92.4%) but barriers to participating, including fear and embarrassment and lack of provider recommendations hindered participation, with 23.2% unsure about being screened. Behavioral practices, such as low smoking and contraceptive use rates also indicated a generally lower risk profile.
Conclusion: Results from the current study reflected public health efforts for targeted interventions to increase awareness and uptake of screening. In the future, efforts need to be concentrated on tackling socio-cultural barriers and the roles played by healthcare providers in promoting cervical cancer prevention.

Key words: Knowledge, attitude, practices, cervical cancer, Saudi Arabia