Cervical cancer prevention awareness among women attending primary health care centres in Baghdad City, Iraq

Cervical cancer is the third most frequent malignancy in women worldwide. Although cervical cancer has great potential for prevention through screening with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing and cytology-based Pap smears, it accounts for up to 6.9% of all female cancer cases. Women in low- and middle-income countries account for the great majority of fatalities. This study investigates women’s awareness of cervical cancer prevention through early detection or screening. In this cross-sectional study, 400 women attending two primary healthcare centres in Baghdad, Iraq, between February 1st and June 20th, 2025, were randomly recruited to assess their awareness of cervical cancer prevention. A standardized Cervical Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) developed by Cancer Research UK was used for data collection. The results showed low women’s awareness, with a mean score below the cut-off. Nearly half of the participants (52%) disagreed that an (HPV) infection may raise a woman’s risk of developing cervical cancer, whereas the majority of participants (82%) thought that cervical cancer is a contagious disease. About 70% didn’t agree having several sexual partners is a risk factor. Approximately 80% of participants did not agree that early identification may decrease or prevent a woman’s risk of developing cervical cancer. Women’s awareness was highly correlated with their levels of education. It is recommended that school-based health education programmes be developed in partnership with local healthcare providers to address these gaps.