The Effect of an Educational Program on Women’s Knowledge Regarding Early Detection and Prevention of Cervical Cancer in Primary Health Care Centers

Background & Objective: Cervical Cancer was classified as the most prevalent gynaecological Cancer worldwide and the fourth most common disease among women. Despite the effectiveness of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, screening for cervical Cancer remains a main global health target issue, with a particularly high cost in low- and middle-income countries. The present study was conducted with aim to assess the effect of educational program on women's knowledge regarding the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer.Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental pretest/posttest study was conducted in 2024-2025 at the Al-primary health care centre, Diwaniyah city, Iraq. A sample of 60 women were selected using purposive sampling. Data was collected using a questionnaire to evaluate women's knowledge before and after the educational program. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software (version 25) and descriptive statistics and independent t-test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The majority of responses were in the low to moderate knowledge range before the intervention. After the educational program, there was a significant increase in Knowledge. In the pretest, 60% of participants were in the low knowledge category, and only 6.7% demonstrated high Knowledge. After the educational intervention, there was a marked shift: only 6.7% remained in the low group, while 63.3% moved into the high knowledge category. There was a significant association between women's knowledge about early detection and prevention of cervical Cancer and various sociodemographic factors such as age, residence, monthly income, educational level, occupation.Conclusion: The educational program positively significantly improved women’s knowledge about early detection and prevention of cervical cancer.