Predictors of uptake of cervical cancer screening among nurses in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Abstract

Background/Aims More than one million women are currently living with cervical cancer. Approximately 311 000 deaths were attributed to the disease in 2018, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries, like Nigeria. Cervical cancer screening has been consistently shown to be effective in reducing the occurrence of new cases of cervical cancer and mortality related to the disease. This study aimed to determine the predictors of cervical cancer screening among nurses in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. Methods This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, which used a structured pretested questionnaire to collect data from 230 nurses randomly selected from two settings in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square and logistic regression. Results All participants had heard of cervical cancer and its screening measures. More than half of the respondents (68.7%) had never submitted for screening. The respondents reported factors such as lack of facilities (77.0%), financial status (76.5%), lack of awareness (75.7%), inconvenient screening time (75.7%) and level of education (71.7%) as influencers of use of cervical cancer screening. Logistic regression analysis showed marital status was significantly related to cervical cancer screening usage (P=0.047). Conclusions Good knowledge of nurses on cervical cancer screening does not translate to uptake of screening services. It is recommended that cervical and other cancer screening services should be included in the pre-employment medical examination of nurses to compel usage of screening services.