Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers among Indian women. Cervical cancer incidence reduces dramatically when effective screening programs linked with access to treatment are in place and are readily accessible. Peripheral health workers (PHWs) being frontline workers have a major influence on raising awareness among community about acceptability of available screening programmes. This study was thus conducted to assess the awareness of PHWs regarding risk factors, signs and symptoms, early detection and prevention for cervical cancer.Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted among 450 PHWs (ASHAs and BHWs). Information was collected regarding their bio-social characteristics, awareness about female cancers, risk factors, signs/symptoms, early detection methods and services available for screening and prevention of cervical cancer.Results: Awareness of different aspects of cervical cancer was found to be very low. Only eight per cent of the PHWs had good awareness score. BHWs obtained statistically significant better mean scores as compared to ASHAs. Few (7.6%) PHWs had received training for any type of female cancers. Only 17 per cent of the PHWs were aware of HPV vaccine availability and only 29 per cent from them could name the vaccine.Conclusions: Majority of the PHWs had poor awareness about cervical cancer and available screening facility in our health system. They had almost no idea of availability of free HPV vaccination at the Sampoorna clinics. This low level of awareness calls for regular training of PHWs on cervical cancer which would ultimately trickle down to the community.

Background: Every woman needs to know the facts, and the fact is, when it comes to breast cancer, every woman is at risk. India accounts for 7.2% of global cancer incidence, but in terms of mortality, the country accounts for 8.3% of global mortality. India faces a high burden of cancer with the late-stage presentation being a common feature. Early detection of cancer is an important strategy for improved survival and simple cost-effective treatment. Low levels of cancer awareness are a significant factor for delay in seeking treatment by women.Objective: The present study was conducted among Peripheral Health Workers (PHWs) in the Lucknow district to assess their perception of risk factors of breast cancer, knowledge of symptoms, early detection methods, and their availability in the district. Methods: The study was conducted from September 2017 to August 2018, among 450 female PHWs working in rural and urban areas of Lucknow. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information about the awareness of PHWs regarding breast cancer. The awareness score was calculated based on their responses. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 (IBM Corporation).Results: The mean score for overall knowledge of breast cancer was statistically significantly high in BHWs in comparison to ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activist). The mean knowledge score of signs and symptoms was significantly high among BHWs (Basic Health Workers). PHWs that had undergone training for breast cancer had about 5 times higher chances of having an above-median score. Conclusion: Current low awareness levels, scarcity of resources, and screening programs call for training and refresher pieces of training for peripheral level health workers to empower them to provide preventive health education and screening at the community level. Breastfeeding counseling sessions during home visits and VHNDs could be utilized as an opportunity to create awareness about breast cancer, especially its protective effect on breast cancer.