Most teenage girls don't understand the
factors that increase the risk of cervical
cancer.
Image: iStockphoto
A new report has uncovered that Year 12 girls are confused about the factors increasing the risk of cervical cancer, despite nearly 86 per cent of the same age group reported being vaccinated.
Conducted by La Trobe University’s Australian Research Centre for Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), The Fourth National Survey in the Sexual Health in Secondary School Students surveyed approximately 3,000 students from State, Catholic and Independent schools.
It is the first time researchers measured cervical cancer knowledge as part of this study. The report rated the respondents overall knowledge as inadequate.
However, despite the majority of young women having been vaccinated for cervical cancer they managed to answer only 2.6 questions right out of 6.
The results for young men where even lower, scoring just under a third of questions right (1.9 out of 6).
Also concerning was only 22 per cent of female respondents understood that smoking could greatly increase the risk of developing cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is listed as Australia’s 18th biggest killer, yet remains the most preventable and curable of all cancers. Since 1991 mortality rates have halved and regular pap smears can prevent the disease in 90 per cent of cases, one point that increases the relevance of the findings.
Despite a relatively good understanding of other sexually transmissible diseases such as HIV, the lack of knowledge amongst students was not confined to cervical cancer.
The survey found that respondents had poor knowledge of common sexually transmissible diseases like chlamydia and gonorrhoea, with 46 per cent unaware that chlamydia can affect both males and females.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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