Factors influencing utilization of cervical cancer screening services among married women in community, Chitwan

Abstract

Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers affecting women globally. It is the fourth most common cancer in women and the seventh overall. The morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer can be highly reduced through vaccination against human papilloma virus, regular screening and timely intervention. The objective of this study was to find out the factors influencing utilization of cervical cancer screening services among married women aged 30-60 of Bharatpur Sub-Metropolitan 19, Chitwan. A community based descriptive cross sectional research design was used, 175 married women were selected using simple random sampling technique. Semi- structured interview schedule was used to collect the data within four weeks. The collected data was entered in Epi data 3.1 and exported to IBM SPSS version 20. Out of 175 women, 42.3% of the respondents were of 30-39 years, 72% were literate, 18.9% had good level of awareness of cervical cancer screening, 44% had utilized cervical cancer screening services and 77.9% of the respondents had done screening only one time. The association showed between utilization of cervical cancer screening services such as duration of marriage (p=0.025), involvement in cervical cancer awareness programme (p=<0.001), fear (p=0.007), shyness (p=<0.001), preference of sex of health personnel (p=0.016), time to reach nearest screening center (p=0.024) and need of cervical cancer screening without any problems of cervix (p=<0.001).
 Multivariate analysis showed that association between utilization of cervical cancer screening services such as duration of marriage 3.036 times, fear 2.992 times, shyness 3.335 times and need of cervical cancer screening without any problems of cervix 30.720 times more likely to utilize cervical cancer screening services.

Awareness Regarding Cervical Cancer among Women Residing in Bharatpur, Chitwan

“…The study conducted in Chitwan by Ranabhat and Thapa (2018) reported similar findings that 27.4% of the women had a good level of awareness, 22.9% had a fair level of awareness, and 49.7% of women had a poor level of awareness in cervical cancer. 21 The study conducted by Harsh and Tanya (2014) in Mangalore, India demonstrated contrast finding that 6% of the respondents had good awareness, 12% had satisfactory awareness, and 81.9% had poor awareness in cervical cancer. 22 A low level of awareness might be due to lack of population-based screening programs, inefficient mass media campaigns, and cultural barriers wherein women in Nepal feel shy to discuss the diseases affecting the sexual organs.…”

Factors influencing utilization of cervical cancer screening services among women – A cross sectional survey

“…13 However, another study to find out factors influencing utilization of cervical cancer screening services among married women aged 30-60 of Bharatpur, Nepal showed that 56% of women never utilized cervical cancer screening services. 14 Even though cervical cancer is the second common cancer among women in India, low knowledge level was reported among participants regarding cervical cancer and Pap smear screening. Current study revealed positive relationship between knowledge regarding cervical cancer screening and utilization of screening services.…”

Knowledge, Practice and Attitude Regarding Cervical Cancer Screening Among Female Teachers of Government School, Bharatpur, Chitwan

“…Further, only 38.3% had undergone screening, although 36.1% held a positive attitude towards the procedure. 16 Comparing these findings, a study conducted in Nigeria showed that 23.4% of the respondents had a good knowledge of cervical cancer screening. However, the practice was considerably low, with only 17.6% having been screened, despite 84% displaying a positive attitude towards the procedure.…”

“…In a similar vein, a study of married women in Nepal demonstrated that 77.9% had undergone screening only once. 16 The timings of school and hospital operations in Nepal, which both typically begin at 10 am, may be inconvenient for teachers to practice screening, potentially contributing to a low practice rate. The primary purposes for undergoing screening were prevention, as stated by 32.8% of respondents, and the recommendation of a health worker, as stated by 22.7%.…”