Abstract
Background. Cervical cancer is a malignant neoplasm disease arising from cells originating in the cervix. It is a preventable disease if a suitable prophylactic plans and proper screening are followed. Lack of knowledge and awareness are considered as the foremost reasons for low use of the preventive strategies. Healthcare professionals with sufficient knowledge can play important role in raising awareness and beliefs of the population in a confident approach. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare professionals among cervical cancer and screening at main hospitals in Tripoli city, capital in Libya. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 370 healthcare professionals during February to March, 2018 at five randomly selected hospitals. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included two sections on demographic characteristic and, to test knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding cervical cancer and its screening. Descriptive statistics, using frequencies and percentages, were calculated for all the questions. Results. The mean age of the participants was 32.58.2 years. About 33.5% of participants were physicians, 21.6% were pharmacists, and 28.4% were nurses. Of the total subjects, 57.9% reported were married for more than 5 years. Regardless the disease risk factors, the participants showed fair cervical cancer knowledge and, optimistic attitude towards screening behavior. Knowledge of cervical cancer was significantly associated with education, profession and parity (p<0.0 … Read more