KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING AMONG WOMEN ATTENDING GYNECOLOGY CLINIC IN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN TEACHING HOSPITAL EDO STATE

Abstract

Cervical cancer is one of the most common types of cancer affecting women worldwide and it is caused by a persistent infection with types of the Human Papillomavirus which is transmitted mainly through sexual contact. This study investigated the knowledge, attitude, and perception of cervical cancer screening and its perceived impact on women attending the gynecology clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted for the study and a structured and validated questionnaire was used for data collection from 110 participants through a systematic sampling technique. The findings revealed that only few of respondents had demonstrated adequate knowledge about the actual cause, risk factors, and preventive measures of cervical cancer screening. Overall level of knowledge of cervical cancer screening was only 41%. In terms of attitude, 81.8% of respondents agreed that cervical cancer screening is important for all women. Regarding perception, there was an overall level of 61.8% good perception of cervical cancer screening. The study also revealed that factors such as level of education, marital status, occupation, and parity influenced women’s perception and attitude toward screening. The study concluded that although awareness and perception of cervical cancer screening were high among women attending the gynecology clinic, actual screening uptake remained low due to misconceptions, fear, and socio-cultural barriers. It is recommended that nurses and other healthcare professionals should intensify health education and awareness campaigns about cervical cancer,emphasize the role of HPV vaccination and routine screening, and establish free or subsidized screening programs within communities.

Identifiers

Resource ID

urn:uuid:9e2a04fe-2644-4c82-b488-9485231558c4