Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Cervical Cancer Screening Among Female University Students in Ishaka Western Uganda

Abstract

Purpose Cervical cancer (CC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women living in third-world countries. CC is preventable, with the possibility of complete treatment if detected early. The objective of the study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice on CC screening (CCS) among female university students (FUS) in Ishaka, western Uganda. Methods The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study among FUS (n = 407) in western Uganda conducted after the first nationwide lockdown in Uganda. Information was collected using a questionnaire and descriptively presented as frequency and percentages. Results The majority of our respondents were medical students 283 (69.5%), below 25 years 339 (83.3%), with Anglican Christian religious background 150 (36.9%). Respondents above the age of 25 years (p = 0.0052) and those in the medical profession (p < 0.001) had more knowledge. More medical students had a better attitude (p = 0.0043) and favorable practices (0.0134) compared to their non-medical counterparts. There is a weak correlation between attitude (r = 0.206, p < 0.001) and practice (r = 0.181, p = 0.0003) with knowledge on CCS. Conclusion Observation from the present study suggests the need for more efforts in the fight against cervical cancer and encouragement of positive attitude and practice towards cervical cancer screening and uptake of vaccination.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of cervical cancer screening among female students enrolled in higher education institutions in Cabo Verde

“…This percentage is lower than those found in similar studies conducted in other countries in Africa, namely a study held among students at the University of Buea in Cameroon by Halle-Ekane et al [ 5 ]. As little as 32.7% of the participants in this study had a positive attitude toward CC in Cabo Verde, which is in line with the results reported by Usman et al [ 33 ] (34,2%) in Uganda, and lower than those described by Getaneh et al [ 26 ] (67.7%), University of Northwest Ethiopia.…”

The predictors of voluntary participation in pulmonary tuberculosis screening program: a study in a suburban community of southern Thailand

“…Moreover, we believed that the higher percentage of educated people in the community influenced the decision of community dwellers to undergo the CXR screening as well. Our finding was supported by those studies assessing the impact of health knowledge, attitudes, and the health belief model on disease screening ( 10 , 26 , 27 , 32 , 33 ) Most of the current studies evaluated the impact of the HBM on the decision of people to undergo breast, cervical, lung, or colonic cancer screening ( 34 – 38 ). No studies discussing PTB screening in the community are available.…”

“…Then, self-efficacy and self-confidence for conducting the advised health practices will be formed in the program participants. It was suggested that the HBM alone or enhanced by self-efficacy, a high level of knowledge, or attitudes toward disease prevention were important motivators for high adoption and adherence to a health program ( 4 – 6 , 24 – 27 ).…”

Knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward glioma of patients with neurological symptoms or diseases in henan, China

“…Higher anxiety toward cancer has been reported to increase the rates of colon and breast cancer screening [ 25 , 26 ]. Nevertheless, the KAP toward screening for various cancers is generally poor, but the presence of symptoms generally appears as an incentive [ [14] , [15] , [16] ]. The presence of neurological symptoms, especially non-specific ones like headaches and seizures, can be worrisome since they cannot be directly linked to a specific disease before investigations.…”

“…Previous studies revealed that the KAP toward cancer in general was very variable among different populations [ [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] ], including cancer screening [ [14] , [15] , [16] ]. KAP studies were performed in patients with glioma [ 17 , 18 ] and healthcare providers [ 19 ], but no data are available regarding the KAP toward glioma of patients consulting for neurological symptoms in general.…”