Awareness and Knowledge of Cervical Cancer among Female Senior High School Students in Lower Manya Krobo Municipal in Ghana

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer is one of the significant public health problems in the world, especially in Less developed countries. In Ghana, cervical cancer is the leading cause of gynecological cancers. This study was aimed at assessing the level of awareness of this dreadful disease among adolescent female Senior High School students in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study of female adolescents was conducted using self-administered questionnaires to elicit information on demographic characteristics, knowledge, awareness, and perception of cervical cancer. The association of demographic characteristics and other important study variables were investigated. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for questions asked. Logistic regression was used to make predictions. Findings: The mean age of participants was 16.6 years (± 1.6). Majority (63.0%) had heard about the disease. About one-third (30.2%) reported getting their information from Television/Radio with a relatively lower proportion (0.4%) getting their information from the internet. Some risk factors

Prevalence and Correlates of Cervical Cancer Prevention Knowledge Among High School Students in Ghana

“…There appeared to be more knowledge about general prevention strategies than specific cervical cancer risk factors, suggesting that students generally understand the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)related conditions (incidentally including cervical cancer) but not the specific risk factors for this disease. This is consistent with findings for student samples from other regions of Sub-Saharan Africa (Bardaji et al, 2018;Opoku Agyemang & Manortey, 2018), Asia (Poudel & Sumi, 2019) and Europe (Bowyer et al, 2013).…”

“…There are a disproportionately small number of studies about cervical cancer knowledge among high school girls. Of ten studies identified in the literature ( Ayissi et al, 2012 ; Bardaji et al, 2018 ; Bowyer et al, 2013 ; Ifediora & Azuike, 2018 ; Lee et al, 2014 ; Mapanga et al, 2019 ; Martianus et al, 2018 ; Opoku Agyemang & Manortey, 2018 ; Poudel & Sumi, 2019 ; Rashwan et al, 2013 ), only three were conducted in Western Africa. In Cameroon, more than 70% of girls have been reported to have knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors and HPV vaccination ( Ayissi et al, 2012 ; Bardaji et al, 2018 ).…”

“…In Cameroon, more than 70% of girls have been reported to have knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors and HPV vaccination ( Ayissi et al, 2012 ; Bardaji et al, 2018 ). Conversely, less than 50% of Ghanaian and Nigerian girls have knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors and the Pap test ( Ifediora & Azuike, 2018 ; Opoku Agyemang & Manortey, 2018 ). While these studies provide some insight, they are limited by the modest sample sizes (<400; Ifediora & Azuike, 2018 ; Opoku Agyemang & Manortey, 2018 ) and the use of convenience sampling ( Ifediora & Azuike, 2018 ), which reduces the generalizability and quality of the findings.…”