Knowledge toward ovarian cancer symptoms among women in Syria: Cross-sectional study

• Published in: Heliyon 2023-08, Vol.9 (8), p.e19076-e19076, Article e19076
• Main Authors: Bohsas, Haidara, Alibrahim, Hidar, Swed, Sarya, A. El-Sakka, Amro, Alyosef, Mohammad, Haitham Sarraj, Haia, Sawaf, Bisher, Baraa Habib, Mhd, fathey, Sherihan, Rashid, Gowhar, Thabet Daraghmi, Ahmed, Thabet Daraghmi, Angham, Hafez, Wael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Awareness; cross-sectional studies; Cross-sectional study; marital status; Ovarian cancer; ovarian neoplasms; pain; public sector; questionnaires; Symptoms; Syria
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19076

Background: Ovarian cancer is the second most prevalent malignancy in women over 40, especially in low-income nations. For every 100,000 women in Syria, 473 new cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed. This study aims to investigate the knowledge of ovarian cancer symptoms among Syrian women and determine the factors associated with good knowledge. Methods: An online cross-sectional was performed between July 29 and August 17, 2022. The inquired participants in the study were Syrian females above 18 years. The questionnaire consists of 41 questions organized into three sections: sociodemographic information, Confidence in recognizing ovarian cancer symptoms, and women's Awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. Results: This research included 557 Syrian women, and the average age was 23. Only 20.5% of involved women demonstrated a good knowledge of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. The participants who agreed that abdominal pain and pelvic pain are ovarian cancer symptoms formed (36.8%), and (63.9%), respectively. Regarding the additional presenting symptoms of ovarian cancer, “extreme generalized fatigue” was the most often reported symptom (66.1%). Divorced women showed greater knowledge scores than other marital status groups (7.13 ± 3.31, P-value