Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening Service Among Nurses in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

Cervical cancer is a preventable cause of death among women especially in developing nations which can be prevented through regular and timely screening. Nurses who are assume to be knowledgeable about cervical cancer screening options and ought to act as leading examples in utilization of cervical cancer screening services, however studies have documented otherwise, The purpose of this study therefore, is to evaluate the Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening Service among Nurses in Ekiti State, as little literary study have been done on the topic among nurses in the setting. A mixed method design study was conducted in four health facilities that were purposively selected in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A total of 278 consenting nurses participated in the study. Data were collected using self- structured questionnaire and interview guide. Data were analyzed using chi square and Student's t-test at p = 0.05. Nurses’ mean age was 35 years with average work experience of 10 years. Results from the study shows that a preponderance of the nurses which stood at 75.8% had never been screened for cervical cancer while only 24.2 have been screened and 90.6% willing to be screened if given the opportunity. It was observed that Nurses’ avoid cervical screening exercise as a result of the following; lack of time, fear of positive result, embarrassment of exposing the vulva to the opposite sex, cost implication and spiritual assurance that they can never be a victim of cervical cancer. Also 164 (59.2%) of the participants had adequate knowledge about cervical cancer screening, while slightly more than half 143 (51.6%) of the respondent had positive attitude towards cervical cancer screening, There was also a significant association between years of professional practice and utilization of cervical cancer screening service as p value was 0.003 This implies that participants who had longer years of professional experience are more likely to utilize cervical cancer screening services than those who had shorter years of professional experience. Therefore, the null-hypothesis was rejected. it was also noted that participants’ level of academic education did not determine whether or not their attitude was positive or negative as the p value gotten was 0.544 The null-hypothesis was not rejected. It was concluded that nurse’s utilisation rate was very low. Thus, regular educational programs on cervical cancer, government and hospital management should make policies that will encourage utilization of cervical cancer screening among nurses are recommended.