Awareness and Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Female Students in School of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Nigeria

Christie Edoghogho Omorogbe

doi:10.11648/j.ajns.20190804.17

Abstract

Cervical cancer screening is an important screening test commonly used to detect abnormal cervical cells, including precancerous cervical lesions, as well as early cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a deadly disease which can be prevented through screening. Not much has been documented on awareness and uptake of cervical cancer screening among female undergraduate students in the University of Benin. This study investigated the awareness and uptake of cervical cancer screening among female students in School of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Benin. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among two hundred (200) female undergraduates selected using simple random sampling technique. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on respondent knowledge awareness and uptake of cervical cancer screening and was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. Results showed that 86.7% of the respondents had knowledge of cervical cancer. Eighteen percent have had a screening for cervical cancer. Findings also revealed that the level of uptake of cervical cancer screening is low compared to the level of knowledge about cervical screening. Intensifying the need for nurses to engage in health education and awareness programs that will increase general awareness of the people on the advantages of uptake of cervical cancer screening is essential.

Highlights

Cancer of the cervix is a global public health issue as it is the most common gynaecological cancer worldwide
Cervical cancer has been reported as one of the few preventable human cancers because its prevention is based on the early diagnosis of precancerous lesions whose treatment generally makes the development of cancer almost
The study revealed that majority of the students were between 18-20 years of age, and majority have knowledge about cervical cancer and heard about it in the hospital, despite the knowledge known about the disease, the acceptability of cervical cancer screening was still very low due to fear of embarrassment, cost, stigma, fear of the diagnosis

Summary

Introduction

Cancer of the cervix is a global public health issue as it is the most common gynaecological cancer worldwide. Cervical cancer is a malignant disease of the cervix usually occurring in the 5th or 6th decade of life at a mean age of 54 years. The disease has a pre-malignant stage which usually occurs in younger women under the age of 40 [1]. Over 90.0% of cervical cancer cases are linked to genital infection with human papilloma virus (HPV). It is estimated to affect approximately 500,000 women annually and 80% of these cases occur in developing countries with about 500,000 new cases, and the cause of 273,000 deaths each year worldwide, it is the second most common cancer among women [2,3,4]. Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex virus type-2, immunosuppressants, and certain dietary deficiencies have been noted to be associated risk factors for HPV infection [4]. Cervical cancer has been reported as one of the few preventable human cancers because its prevention is based on the early diagnosis of precancerous lesions whose treatment generally makes the development of cancer almost

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion