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Knowledge and Health Care-Seeking Behavior in Relation to Gynecological Malignancies in India: A Study of the Patients with Gynecological Malignancies in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Kolkata

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Abstract

This cross-sectional observational study was undertaken to find out the knowledge about gynecological malignancies and health care-seeking behavior of patients with gynecological malignancies. In a gynecology out-patient clinic in Kolkata, India, the patients with the suggestive symptoms of gynecological malignancies were screened out. Their diagnoses were confirmed by histopathology. One hundred thirteen patients with histopathologically confirmed gynecological malignancies were interviewed. Eleven patients (9.7%) knew that white discharge or bleeding per vagina was the early symptom and 38 (33.6%) patients knew that gynecological malignancies were treatable. Fifty-six patients (49.5%) had discussed about their symptoms first with their husbands. Most of the patients (91 patients or 80.5%) had visited a private health facility first for their symptoms. Educational level of the patients was found to be inversely associated with the time of presentation at this hospital. This study highlights the need to increase the awareness about gynecological malignancies among women and the community.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Profs. R. Biswas and A. Dasgupta, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, India for their support and valuable suggestions.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine, Nilratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, India

    Madhutandra Sarkar

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, 114 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT, 06105, USA

    Madhutandra Sarkar

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nilratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, India

    Hiralal Konar

  4. Department of Community Medicine, VM Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India

    D. K. Raut

  5. 163G Foster Drive, Willimantic, CT, 06226, USA

    Madhutandra Sarkar

Authors
  1. Madhutandra Sarkar
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  2. Hiralal Konar
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  3. D. K. Raut
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Correspondence to Madhutandra Sarkar.

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Sarkar, M., Konar, H. & Raut, D.K. Knowledge and Health Care-Seeking Behavior in Relation to Gynecological Malignancies in India: A Study of the Patients with Gynecological Malignancies in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Kolkata. J Canc Educ 26, 348–354 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-010-0168-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-010-0168-9

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