Physicians' Knowledge and Practice of Cervical Cancer Screening in Sudan

Introduction: Cervical cancer is second gynecologic cancer in among women in Sudan .and the country occupies the third top country of highest level of cervical cancer morbidity and mortality in North Africa Region .There is an inventiveness to introduce screening program for cervical cancer in the country. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge and practice of physicians on cervical cancer screening and prevention in Khartoum State in Sudan before introduction of screening program.Materials and methods: Cross -sectional survey was conducted during the period of June to July 2011 among obstetricians/gynaecologists and general practitioners in Khartoum State in Sudan. Self – administrated questionnaire about knowledge and practices of cervical cancer screening was distributed randomly to 230 physicians at their work places.Results: The respondent rate of participant was 74.3%; there was high response rate among general practitioners compared to obstetricians/gynaecologists (80.4% versus 53.5%). The main practice of all participated physicians was antenatal care71.9% and cervical cancer was frequently diagnosed and treated by 42.5% of the physicians. About 83% of the physicians perceived cervical cancer as major health problem in Sudan and, 62% of them stated that this cancer can be tackled by early diagnosis and treatment while 43.1% claimed that the this cancer be prevented by vaccination of the women against HPV. Although there was difference between general practitioners and obstetricians/gynaecologists in practice of cervical cancer screening, there was level high of knowledge on cervical cancer screening methods among all physicians.Conclusion: This study showed that physicians in Khartoum state in Sudan had adequate knowledge about cervical cancer screening methods. There is imperative need for exploitation of this knowledge in control of prevention of cervical cancer in Sudan.