A qualitative analysis of South African women's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about HPV and cervical cancer prevention, vaccine awareness and acceptance, and maternal-child communication about sexual health.

In South Africa, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death among women. Black South Africa women are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer and have one of the highest mortality rates from this disease. Although the body of literature that examines HPV and cervical cancer prevention is growing in the developing world; there is still a need for a better understanding of women's knowledge and beliefs around HPV and cervical cancer prevention.

Healers in a non-traditional role; a focus group study of Sangoma's knowledge of and attitudes to cervical cancer prevention and screening in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Twelve Sangomas or traditional healers participated in a focus group exploring their understanding of cervical cancer and human papilloma virus (HPV), their role informing women about cervical cancer prevention and screening; and their interaction/cooperation with western medicine. Participants lacked knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine but had an understanding of cervical cancer prevention and pap smears. Participants expressed interest in greater collaboration with western doctors, requested more prevention information, and noted the vaccine could serve as strategy to prevent HPV in victims of sexual violence, and time of vaccination could serve as an opportunity for parents to talk to their children about sex.

Examining attitudes and knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer risk among female clinic attendees in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Developing countries account for 85% of the nearly 500,000 yearly cases of cervical cancer worldwide with approximately 250,000 deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. In South Africa, cervical cancer is the 3(rd) leading cause of death among women. Although cervical cancer can be screened for with regular Pap tests, access to preventive screenings may be nearly non-existent in resource poor settings that have limited public health infrastructure and where women may lack basic health education.