The attitude and knowledge of cervical cancer by Cameroonian women; a clinical survey conducted in Maroua, the capital of Far North Province of Cameroon

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and assumption of cervical cancer by women living in Maroua, the capital of the Far North Province of Cameroon. In a 1-month period, 171 women were surveyed as to their socioeconomic status, sexual habits, prior knowledge of cervical cancer, its prevention, and their attitudes toward cervical cancer. Of 171 women, 48 (28%) had prior knowledge of cervical cancer; they were classified as the "aware group" compared with 123 of 171 (72%) women who were uninformed about cervical cancer and they were classified as the "unaware group" (UG). The UG of women tended to be single mothers, illiterate, housewives, and had their first child before the age of 20 (P < 0.005). Despite the awareness of cervical cancer by 28% of women, only a minority of them, 4 of 48 (8.3%), underwent a preventative screening test. Only 71 of 171 (41.5%) women stated that they would be having a screening test in the future. The awareness of cervical cancer by women in Cameroon is still inadequate. Thus, to avoid deaths from cervical cancer, a curable and preventable disease, the need of an aggressive campaign to make Cameroonian women aware of cervical cancer and its prevention is needed.

Pap Smear Screening, the Way Forward for Prevention of Cervical Cancer? A Community Based Study in the Buea Health District, Cameroon

“…About half of the women had "fair" knowledge while, 40.7%, had "poor" knowledge ( Table 1). This appears to be a common problem in other parts of the country like in Maroua [9] and other sub Saharan countries where similar findings were documented [11] [12].…”

“…The younger age group is also less likely to be screened if the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement of screening women as from 21 years is respected by health care providers [8]. However, some researchers recommend screening to be carried out for sexually active women irrespective of age [9]. The majority of women who were screened in this study were above 40 years.…”

“…The aim of including women between the ages of 18 -24 years was to identify participants that were likely to benefit subsequently from Pap smear screening. Using multistage cluster sampling, 309 participants were recruited based on a KAP study on cervical cancer screening in Maroua, Cameroon [9]. Data was collected from the participants using an interviewer-administered pretest questionnaire.…”

Knowledge and Attitude towards Cervical Cancer Screening among Females Attending out Patient Department in Health Centre IIIs in Oyam District

“…62.7% had heard of cervical cancer in the present study. This proportion is higher than that reported in a Nigerian study [11], though comparable to a study in Cameroon [12] and slightly lower than that reported in an Ethiopian study [13]. Only 39.1% (n = 174) believed that cervical cancer can be prevented and indeed only a few had been screened.…”

The Study of the Knowledge levels and Awareness of the academicians who are not in the field of health in relation to Cervical Cancer

“…Bu konuda yapılan birçok araştırma sonuçlarına göre; kadınların büyük bir çoğunluğunun serviks kanseri hakkında bilgilerinin olmadığı ve serviks kanseri konusunda bilgi alan kadınların ön teste göre son testte bilgilerinin arttığı belirtilmiştir [10][11][12][13] . Büyük stres ve sorun yaratan serviks kanserine yakalanmamak veya çok erken dö-nemde teşhis edilip tedavisini mümkün kılmak ancak kadınların bu konuda bilgilendirilmeleri ve eğitilmele-ri ile sağlanabilir 14 .…”