Abstract
Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed among women and currently affects more than one million adult females worldwide. Approximately 13,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually, with greater than 4,000 deaths. Unfortunately, most cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed in advanced stages leading to substandard health outcomes. The rate of adherence to screening guidelines is recognized as suboptimal. Lack of education regarding cervical cancer and related screening guidelines results in low screening rates, late diagnosis, and increased mortality among women. This project aimed to implement education to increase knowledge of cervical cancer and recommended screening guidelines in a rural community center. Methods: Adult females (N=13) over 21 participated in the pre-and post-cervical cancer screening educational intervention. This project used a pre-post survey design with a single interactive, verbal educational intervention regarding cervical cancer. Outcome measures included pre-intervention cervical cancer screening adherence, baseline knowledge, barriers to screening, post-intervention knowledge, and willingness to adhere to recommended screening guidelines following the intervention. Results: Before the intervention, the majority of participants (76.92%) reported not receiving cervical cancer education from healthcare providers, while 61.54% had no knowledge of HPV. However, after the intervention, all participants found the session informative. Moreover, the likelihood of complying with screening guidelines and receiving routine women's health care was observed to be over 60%. Conclusions: The educational intervention provided to women over the age of 21 may result in increased knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and willingness to adhere to cervical cancer screening guidelines.