Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions Influencing Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in Kitwe District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia

Abstract

Background: Cervical Cancer is one such a disease that remains with high mortality unless prevented or detected early and managed. It is one of the most common cancers of the child bearing age between 20 and 45 years world over. It is rated as the second most prevalent cancer among women. There is high consensus among various scholars that high quality screening, effective treatment and routine follow-up care are cardinal in helping women. The main objective of the study was to identify the factors influencing cervical cancer screening in Kitwe District, Zambia. Methods: An analytical crosssectional study design was employed that included the use of a researcheradministered questionnaire. Simple random sampling was used to sample 210 participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and chi-square test was used to determine associations among variables. Binary logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval. Results: The age of the women enrolled in the study ranged from 20 to 59 years, with a mean age of 30.4 years (SD: 8.36). Majority (46.2%) of the women were aged between 25 to 34 years and the mean age reported for sexual debut among respondents was 19.7 (SD: 4.01) years ranging from 12 to 31 years at first sexual encounter. Almost all (99%) the women were Christians and 42.9% had attained secondary school education. Fifty nine (59%) of the respondents were married and 77.

Malanville Women&apos;s Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Cervical Cancer Prevention in 2023

“…This result is similar to that of John-Akinola et al [8] in Nigeria and Ghosh et al [9] in India, who respectively had 77% and 77.2% poor knowledge regarding CC prevention. In contrast to our study, Daka et al [10] in Zambia reported 77.6% of women who had a good knowledge about CC. This difference could be explained by the implementation and implementation of the See and Treat programme for CC screening throughout the country, the training of health workers.…”