Abstract
There is a higher Human Papilloma Virus peak prevalence in younger women (18 - 25 years) of university age. The undergraduate university students are more at a risk of acquiring cervical cancer because they are at the stage of exploring which predisposes them to risky behavior like early sexual intercourse and multiple sexual partners among others. This creates a need for cervical cancer screening in the population. The facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening have been studied in the Ugandan general population but little is known among University students which this study is taking interest. Objective: This study is aimed at determining the facilitators, barriers and background factors associated to cervical cancer screening among female undergraduate students in Makerere University. Methods: Four hundred twenty-two (422) female undergraduate students of Makerere University who fit the eligibility criteria were recruited in this descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study. A self-administered semi structured questionnaire was administered to these participants chosen by convenient sampling. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 23 software and logistic regression models was used. Results: Less than a half of (21.1%) of the participants had ever screened for cervical cancer. At multivariate analysis, only year of study and married status were associated to cervical cancer screening with a P-values were of (0.015) and (0.001) with a (1.173 - 4.261) and (1.594 - 6.130) 95% CI respectively. The facilitators agreed upon by participants included: Access to free cervical cancer screening services, adequate knowledge about cervical cancer screening and advice from a friend, family or physician among others. The reported barriers to screening were fear of bad result, low risk perception and fear of embarrassment among others. Conclusions and Recommendations: Among the female undergraduate students of Makerere University, only 21.1% had screened for cervical cancer. Therefore, there is a critical need for university based cancer education campaign on cervical cancer and the benefits of screening. Screening services should be integrated into the existing university medical services.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is defined as an outgrowth of cells in the lining of the cervix [1] It’s the fourth most frequent cancer worldwide with an estimated 570,000 new cases equivalent to 6.6% of all the female cancers
The facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening have been studied in the Ugandan general population but little is known among University students which this study is taking interest
This study is aimed at determining the facilitators, barriers and background factors associated to cervical cancer screening among female undergraduate students in Makerere University
Summary
Cervical cancer is defined as an outgrowth of cells in the lining of the cervix [1] It’s the fourth most frequent cancer worldwide with an estimated 570,000 new cases equivalent to 6.6% of all the female cancers. At multivariate analysis only Married status and year of study were significant, with the former having a p-value of (p = 0.001). This corresponds to what was discovered in a Nigerian study where over 18% of the married people had screened for cervical cancer [24]. This could be explained by the fact that perhaps respondents in the current study had good marital supportive relationships including in the field of health. At the same time reproductive health programs recommend encouragement of male participation in reproductive health issues [19] the other hand participants who are married could perceive themselves high at risk as explained by a study in Ethiopia where HPV infection was the commonest STI in this population [25]
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