Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer (CC) screening among Saudi women.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was established via an online questionnaire between December 2025 and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, among Saudi females aged 16 years and older. The questionnaire involved questions about demographics, gynecological and reproductive history, CC screening, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, knowledge of CC, awareness regarding pap smear, HPV, and vaccine.
Results: A total of 784 females were included; 28.4% and 9.2% reported having a pap smear and receiving the HPV vaccine, respectively. The overall knowledge of CC was poor among 71.2%, with a total mean ± SD score of 6.37 ± 1.95. The mean score of knowledge was associated with education (p-value = 0.002) and occupation (p-value = 0.0001). The awareness was low among 47.3%, whereas the total mean ± SD score was 3.79 ± 1.46. The awareness of the participants was related to marital status (p-value = 0.02), education (p-value = 0.01), occupation (p-value = 0.0001), and results of Pap smear (p-value = 0.003).
Conclusion: Knowledge and awareness of women regarding CC, screening, HPV infection, and vaccination were poor and insufficient. Consequently, practicing screening and receiving vaccination was also very low.

Key words: Knowledge, awareness, HPV, cervical cancer, Pap smear, Saudi Arabia.