Abstract 21: Awareness of HPV and experience with cervical cancer screening in rural Southern Vietnam

Background: Cervical cancer is the fifth most common female cancer in Vietnam; incidence rates are higher in Southern compared to Northern areas. Several studies have found that most Southern urban women lacked knowledge of Human papillomavirus (HPV) and had never been screened for cervical cancer, however, no studies have been conducted in Southern rural areas. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional study aimed at exploring awareness of HPV and attitudes toward and experience with cervical cancer screening among rural women in Southern Vietnam. We were particularly interested in whether HPV self-sampling was acceptable in this population. Methods: In October and November 2021, 198 women aged 28-65 living in the rural Can Gio district of Ho Chi Minh City were recruited for the study. Participants were asked to complete an HPV awareness questionnaire in Vietnamese. They then watched four short Vietnamese dubbed and subbed videos demonstrating cervical cancer screening methods (Pap smear, visual inspection with acetic acid application [VIA], HPV sampling by a physician, and HPV self-sampling) before answering questions about their views and experience with each screening method. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate differences in HPV awareness and screening history by age, marital status, religion, education level and household income. Logistic regression models were fit to test for associations between and trends in HPV awareness and screening experience with age, education level and income. Results: Of the 198 participants, 67 (34%) had ever heard of HPV. Women with higher education levels and higher income were more likely to have heard of HPV (p-trend