THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF PAP SMEAR AMONG LOCAL SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE SHARJAH DISTRICT.

Correspondence:
Dr. Nseem Mohamed Bakheit
United Arab Emirates
Ministery of Health

Abstract
Objective: The purposes of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and attitude of the target population concerning cervical cancer and methods of its early detection, and to address where the target population would prefer to do the pap smear test and what factors influence women's participation in the screening programme.

Design: It is a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study using a detailed questionnaire.

Setting: 18 schools in Sharjah City (UAE) were chosen randomly during January 2001

Subjects: This study was applied to female married school teachers in Sharjah City (UAE). 350 teachers were participated in the study. 

Results: This study showed that although the teachers have a good knowledge about papanicolaou smear tests, they are not commonly practicing it. Overall, the most frequently reported reasons for not having a recent pap smear were belief that it might be painful, followed by embarrassment. This study clearly demonstrates that there are no statistical relationships between age, husbands' education and marriage duration and the women's knowledge and attitude. The majority of the women who participated in the study want the pap smear test to be done in the gynecology clinic in the hospital and 86% of them prefer a gynecologist to perform this test, while only 3% would would prefer it to be performed by a family physician. The major source of information about papanicolaou smear tests has been delivered via the gynecologist, which represents 53.5% whereas information distributed through the family physician represent 3.6% only.

Conclusion: Efforts to increase coverage in cervical screening programs needs to be directed towards medical practitioners as well as towards women. Long term education programs should be made available to motivate the female population in the UAE. In addition, training should be supplied to GP's and primary care physicians to encourage optional screening.