Cervical Cancer Prevention Education for Asian Women

This article discusses the causes, prevention, and treatment of cervical cancer in Asian women. It explores the barriers to learning and cultural beliefs that affect screening. It also suggests how healthcare services and programs can help reduce the occurrence of cervical cancer.

Running head: CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION EDUCATION
CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION EDUCATION FOR ASIAN WOMEN
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Cervical cancer is cancer that occurs in the cervix- the lowermost part of the uterus
that connects with the vagina. The cells start to grow abnormally in this region due to
infection by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) - sexually transmitted virus (Gana et al.,
2017). Among the cancer-related deaths in women all over the world, cervical cancer is the
second most common reason. In Asia, almost 5,00,000 new cases are annually diagnosed,
and the mortality rate is around 50% (Daniyal et al., 2015). There are many awareness
programs conducted by the government, but there is no visible reduction neither in the
number of women contracting the disease nor in the mortality rates.
Several factors cause cervical cancer. The girls who start sexual activity within a year
of their start of menstrual cycles are at high risk to develop cervical cancer. The second most
crucial factor is cigarette smoking, the interaction of the chemicals in the smoke with the
cervix cells cause precancerous changes, which can develop to cancer. Cigarette smokers are
at risk of two to five times to have cervical cancer than that of the non-smokers (Al-Darwish
et al., 2014). Oral contraceptives are another cause of cervical cancer if taken for more than
five years. HIV and HPV are epidemics that fuel one another in a deadly circle- HIV
contracted people have a higher risk of HPV infections and vice versa.
Comprehensive screening and subsequent treatment of precancerous lesions can
prevent cervical cancer. The vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus is available which is very
useful and safe. Cervical cancer can be avoided by educating women on different health
issues and disease prevention, but they do not come to the forefront. Women of Asia suffer
the most due to cervical cancer. Firstly, it is due to their lower uptake or participation in the
screening test of cervical cancer. Secondly, they do not have proper access to the screening
test. Thirdly, they do not have much knowledge about the causes, signs, prevention and
medication of the disease, which causes non-adherence to screening (Karadag et al., 2014).

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Lastly, they do not access the screening test due to shame or embarrassment and fear of the
society, as it is a sexually transmitted infection.
There are a few cultural and psychological beliefs regarding the screening of cervical
cancer. Firstly, is that they believe they are at a low risk to perceive the disease, which
results in not taking the screening test (Yilmazel & Duman, 2014). Secondly, there is a belief
that one goes to healthcare services for specific and visible symptoms. Lastly, cultural beliefs
regarding modesty are negatively linked with screening (Baskaran et al., 2014).
There are a few barriers to learning in Asian women regarding cervical cancer. The
women who have cervical cancer in Asia mostly belongs to poor socio-economic status, who
lacks knowledge about the disease and its prevention, so they do not participate in the
programs undertaken by the healthcare services for the awareness and screening of the
disease. The women do not participate in the educational programs for cervical cancer due to
embarrassment and fear of society (Julinawati et al., 2013).
There are many healthcare services and programs by the government regarding the
awareness of the disease, still many women contracts and die due to this disease. Thus, the
women should be made aware that there is no need for being embarrassed in contracting this
disease also not to fear the society regarding it (Johnson et al., 2014). The women of the
rural areas of different countries in Asia should be the target of the teaching plan. Before the
idea of teaching is implemented, there is a need to approach and interview women to know
their knowledge and awareness of the disease, with their consent for participation. Then the
collected data should be analysed so that the teaching plan can be made accordingly. An
educational booklet in both English and local languages of the regions (Gana et al., 2017)
where the programs will take place is developed. The booklet should contain the meaning of
cervical cancer, where it occurs, what are the types and how the disease is contracted

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(Elmaged Elrufie, 2017). The booklet should also give knowledge about the risk factors and
visible symptoms of the disease. The women should gain knowledge about Pap smear test
and the techniques to perform the analysis to screen the disease; it will thus make them aware
of the screening tests that are available to detect cancer (Said, Hassan& Sarhan, 2018). The
booklet should give the information about the vaccination for cervical cancer and from where
they can avail the vaccination. The booklet should also throw light on different ways of
prevention, and the treatment of the disease that they could get from a government recognised
hospitals at a very cheap rate.
The teaching program should start with sessions where the information is given
verbally to the women, and then the booklets are distributed among them. The teaching
program should consist of few scheduled meetings and not one so that the women are
thoroughly aware of the disease and ways of preventing it. The sessions should include a
group of three to four women so that they thoroughly understand the matter and its
seriousness (Said, Hassan& Sarhan, 2018). The period of the session should be between half
an hour to one hour, which should include the discussion based on their achievement,
progress and feedback (Elmaged Elrufie, 2017). The booklet should not only contain written
information but should also have images picturing of what is written in the booklet, so that it
becomes easy to interpret the message and garner knowledge. During the verbal sessions,
powerpoint presentation can be helpful to impart the knowledge and will attract the women to
participate in the programs. These types of teaching plans will also be able to help illiterate
women be aware of the disease and prevent it.
To see the level of awareness among the women after the teaching program has taken
place, a survey or another session of an interview is conducted after a few months of the
program (Gana et al., 2017). Then, both the data that is before and after the educational

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program is analysed to see if the program has any fruitful impact on the women who
participated.
The nurses can conduct teaching programs by taking permission from the hospitals;
make the women aware of the disease, and ways to prevent it. The nurses should teach
women in a clear and understandable way so that it becomes easy for them to grasp it, which
will attract more participants. They should motivate the women to take the screening test to
detect the disease without any fear and hesitation. They should also encourage women
suffering from the disease to have the treatment done. These interventions of the nurses can
have positive outcomes, which will be helpful to reduce the occurrence of the disease and the
mortality rate due to it among Asian women.
Thus to conclude, it can be said that the occurrence of cervical cancer and the
resulting mortality rate due to cervical cancer in Asian women can be reduced considerably;
by making them conscious of the disease; by carrying out different awareness and teaching
programs. These programs should be set up either by the government or healthcare
institutions. The healthcare personnel like the doctors and nurses play a critical role in
awareness programs. Cervical cancer is the one, which can be prevented easily by
vaccination and increased awareness.

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