BACKGROUND Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women in Ghana, but knowledge and experience of women who have had cervical screening is under-evaluated. This study examined knowledge and understanding of HPV and cervical cancer and evaluated experiences of screening in a cohort of women of mixed HIV status. METHODS This was a mixed methods study using questionnaires and focus group discussions, with a knowledge score constructed from the questionnaire. HIV-positive and HIV-negative women were recruited from a larger cervical screening study in Ghana and were interviewed 6 months after receiving screening. Quantitative data was analyzed and triangulated with qualitative data following thematic analysis using the framework approach. RESULTS A total of 131 women were included (HIV-positive, n = 60). Over 80% of participants had a knowledge score deemed adequate. There was no difference between HIV-status groups in overall knowledge scores (p = 0.1), but variation was seen in individual knowledge items. HIV-positive women were more likely to correctly identify HPV as being sexually-transmitted (p = 0.05), and HIV negative women to correctly identify the stages in developing cervical cancer (p = < 0.0001). HIV-positive women mostly described acquisition of HPV in stigmatising terms. The early asymptomatic phase of cervical cancer made it difficult for women to define "what" cancer was versus "what" HPV infection was. All women expressed that they found it difficult waiting for their screening results but that receiving information and counselling from health workers alleviated anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Knowledge of women who had participated in a cervical screening study was good, but specific misconceptions existed. HIV-positive women had similar levels of knowledge to HIV-negative, but different misconceptions. Women expressed generally positive views about screening, but did experience distress. A standardized education tool explaining cervical screening and relevance specifically of HPV-DNA results in Ghana should be developed, taking into consideration the different needs of HIV-positive women.

中文翻译：

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一群接受人类乳头瘤病毒和宫颈癌筛查的HIV阳性和HIV阴性的加纳妇女的知识和经验。

背景技术宫颈癌是加纳妇女中最常见的癌症，但是接受过宫颈筛查的妇女的知识和经验却被低估。这项研究检查了对HPV和子宫颈癌的知识和了解，并评估了一群HIV混合状况妇女的筛查经验。方法这是一项使用问卷和焦点小组讨论的混合方法研究，并从问卷中获得知识得分。HIV阳性和HIV阴性的妇女是从加纳进行的一项较大的子宫颈筛查研究中招募的，接受筛查后6个月接受了采访。在使用框架方法进行主题分析之后，对定量数据进行了分析，并与定性数据进行了三角测量。结果共纳入131名妇女（HIV阳性，n = 60）。超过80％的参与者的知识得分被认为是足够的。艾滋病毒感染状况组之间的总体知识得分没有差异（p = 0.1），但是各个知识项目的差异却很大。HIV阳性的女性更有可能正确地将HPV鉴定为性传播疾病（p = 0.05），而HIV阴性的女性则更可能正确地鉴定宫颈癌的发展阶段（p = <0.0001）。艾滋病毒呈阳性的妇女大多以侮辱性的方式描述了人乳头瘤病毒的获得。子宫颈癌的早期无症状期使女性很难确定“什么”癌症与“什么” HPV感染相比。所有妇女都表示，很难等待筛查结果，但从医护人员那里获得信息和咨询可以缓解焦虑症。结论参加过宫颈筛查研究的女性的知识很好，但是存在特定的误解。艾滋病毒呈阳性的妇女的知识水平与艾滋病毒呈阴性的妇女相似，但有不同的误解。妇女对筛查普遍表示积极看法，但确实感到痛苦。应考虑艾滋病毒抗体阳性妇女的不同需求，开发一种标准的教育工具，解释加纳的宫颈癌筛查及其与HPV-DNA结果的相关性。