Individual-level Determinants of Cervical Cancer Screening Uptake among Women in Kirinyaga County in Kenya.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the determinants of uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The study adopted a randomised control trial study design with a sample size of 206 women aged between 25- 69 years. Respondents were randomised into control and intervention arms. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Analysis was done using thematic content for qualitative data; descriptive statistics were used to summarise categorical variables. Bivariate analysis using the Fisher exact and Chi-square was also applied. Factors with a p<0.05 were further analysed in multivariate analysis. Respondents who had a high perception of being susceptible to cervical cancer were 4.26 times most likely to attend cervical cancer screening than those who did not. Respondents who had a high perception of cervical cancer as a serious disease were 3.46 times more likely to stick to cervical cancer screening than those who did not. This study concluded that it was essential to ensure that the girls were educated to a higher level and increase the knowledge of cervical cancer screening in the communities. In addition, an increase in formal employment and household income would lead to increased uptake of cervical cancer screening. This study recommends that Kirinyaga County and Kerugoya County Referral Hospital's management provide health education through mobile phone technology to bring positive perceptions on the importance of cervical cancer screening.