Knowledge and Usage of Cervical Cancer Screening for Cancer Prevention by Reproductive Age Women

Abstract

Cervical cancer –CCa screening is an effective measure mapped out for preventing cancer occurrences in women. This study determined the status of knowledge and usage of CCa screening for cancer prevention among reproductive age Nigerian women. The study was based on descriptive research design and was conducted in Nigeria, from October 2017 to April 2018 and comprised of reproductive age women. The participants, aged 15-49 years, were vulnerable to CCa. The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire. Statistical Package for Social Science version 21 was used for data analysis. All the participants were Nigerians totalling 1300. Of all, 1249(96.1%) completed the questionnaire correctly. Majority of the participants were: Christians 825(66.0%), Single 695(55.6%), aged 26-35 years 673(53.8%), and had Secondary education 753(60.2%). A greater proportion of the participants 1073(86.7%) knew about CCa screening. Among them, only 513(41.7%) were screened. The status of knowledge and usage of CCa screening varied within variables. A statistically significant difference was observed with regards to Age by birth (P-value <0.05) while none existed on marital status, religion and educational level (P-value >0.05). There is obvious gap between what is known about CCa screening service for cancer prevention and the actual usage by the women. The majority of the women knew about the available services but only few of them had used it. This implies that there is obvious imbalance between the quality of knowledge of a given health service and the actual usage.