Biopsychosocial risk factors and knowledge of cervical cancer among young women: A case study from Kenya to inform HPV prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Background Cervical cancer is the second most common female reproductive cancer after breast cancer with 84% of the cases in developing countries. A high uptake of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination and screening, and early diagnosis leads to a reduction of incidence and mortality rates. Yet uptake of screening is low in Sub-Saharan Africa and there is an increasing number of women presenting for treatment with advanced disease. Nine women in their twenties die from cervical cancer in Kenya every day. This paper presents the biopsychosocial risk factors that impact on cervical cancer knowledge among Kenyan women aged 15 to 24 years. The findings will highlight opportunities for early interventions to prevent the worrying prediction of an exponential increase by 50% of cervical cancer incidences in the younger age group by 2034. Methods Data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) was analysed using complex sample logistic regression to assess biopsychosocial risk factors of knowledge of cervical cancer among young women aged 15 to 24 years (n = 5398). Findings Close to one third of the participants were unaware of cervical cancer with no difference between participants aged 15-19 years (n = 2716) and those aged 20-24 years (n = 2691) (OR = 1; CI = 0.69-1.45). Social predisposing factors, such as lack of education; poverty; living further from a health facility; or never having taken a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test, were significantly associated with lack of awareness of cervical cancer (p<0.001). Young women who did not know where to obtain condoms had an OR of 2.12 (CI 1.72-2.61) for being unaware of cervical cancer. Psychological risk factors, such as low

Global trends and age-specific incidence and mortality of cervical cancer from 1990 to 2019: an international comparative study based on the Global Burden of Disease

“…On the contrary, the situation of cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa remains severe, which could be explained by the inadequate resources and trained manpower, lack of awareness of cervical cancer, unorganised cervical screening and HPV vaccination programmes. Another important reason is that the increased number of HIV infections is due to the higher risk of HPV infection in HIV-infected women 25. Notably, the coverage and quality of the data in sub-Saharan Africa are not enough (most counties are no vital registration or verbal autopsy data), so the trend of cervical cancer incidence and mortality in this region has yet to be further verified by more reliable data.…”

Avaliação Da Compreensão De Estudantes Sobre O Câncer De Mama E Do Colo Do Útero Em Um Município Do Maranhão

“…Não só isso, mas as pessoas de baixa renda e de nível de escolaridade inferior, muitas vezes, quando vão descobrir casos de doenças, já estão em estados avançados, o que prejudica um bom prognóstico, expandido a morbidade relacionada ao tratamento. Quanto menor o nível de escolaridade familiar, maiores as desinformações da população sobre a IST, cânceres de mama e de colo do útero (NGUNE, et al,2020;AL-AZRI, et al, 2019).…”

“…et al, 2020). E 29,21% das alunas utilizam pílula anticoncepcional ou injetável (NGUNE, et al, 2020).…”

“…A literatura relata que os principais fatores de risco para o câncer de mama são: ser do sexo feminino, a menarca precoce, o uso de contraceptivos hormonais, o sedentarismo, a inatividade física, o consumo de bebida alcoólica, o tabagismo, o consumo de alimentos ricos em gorduras, a obesidade, e os fatores genéticos e hereditários como histórico familiar de casos de câncer de mama (NGUNE, et al, 2020;ATWA, et al, 2019;DUGNO, et al 2014). Além do mais, outros fatores de risco foram investigados como prática de sexo sem proteção, o início da atividade sexual precoce, múltiplos parceiros sexuais, o tabagismo, o uso de anticoncepcional oral, baixa ingestão de vitaminas e a alimentação inadequada (KOCK KS;PAULA, et al,2020).…”

Outcomes and Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening Services Amongst Women Attending United Bulawayo Hospitals Cancer Screening Clinic: A Secondary Data Analysis from 2018 to 2020.

“…The risk factors for cervical cancer include sexual intercourse at an early age, multiple sexual partners, multi-parity, sexually transmitted diseases, tobacco smoking, long-term combined oral contraceptive use, immunosuppressive therapy and micronutrient de ciency (8,9). Social predisposing factors such as lack of education, poverty, living further from a health facility or never having had a Human Immunode ciency Virus (HIV) test were signi cantly associated with lack of awareness of cervical cancer (10,11).…”