TITLE:
Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions Influencing Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in Kitwe District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia
AUTHORS:
Mercy Daka, Catherine M. Ngoma, Victoria Kalusopa, Yolan Banda, Emmanuel K. Chikwanda, Alex Mulumba
KEYWORDS:
Knowledge, Attitude, Perceptions, Cervical Cancer, Screening
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.12 No.6,
June
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Cervical Cancer is one such a disease that remains with high mortality
unless prevented or detected early and managed. It is one of the most common
cancers of the child bearing age between 20 and 45 years world over. It is
rated as the second most prevalent cancer among women. There is high consensus
among various scholars that high quality screening, effective treatment and
routine follow-up care are cardinal in helping women. The main objective of the
study was to identify the factors influencing cervical cancer screening in
Kitwe District, Zambia. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study
design was employed that included the use of a researcher-administered
questionnaire. Simple random sampling was used to sample 210 participants. Data
were analyzed using SPSS version
25 and chi-square test was used to determine associations among variables.
Binary logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. Statistical
significance was set at p Results: The age of the women enrolled in the study ranged from 20 to 59 years, with a
mean age of 30.4 years (SD: 8.36). Majority (46.2%) of the women were aged
between 25 to 34 years and the mean age reported for sexual debut among
respondents was 19.7 (SD: 4.01) years ranging from 12 to 31 years at first
sexual encounter. Almost all (99%) the women were Christians and 42.9% had
attained secondary school education. Fifty nine (59%) of the respondents were
married and 77.6% had children. Over three quarters (77.6%) of the respondents
were knowledgeable on cervical cancer and screening, majority (61%) of the
respondents demonstrated a more positive attitude towards cervical cancer
screening, and the overall perception level among study respondents was more
positive (71.9%). The findings of the present study indicated that the
magnitude of cervical cancer screening was 44.8%. In the binary logistic
regression analysis, older age (35 to 44 years: AOR = 10.91, 95% CI: 2.67 -
44.48, p = 0.001; 45 to 59 years: AOR = 10.28, 95% CI: 1.52 - 69.68, p = 0.017,
respectively), and having a positive attitude (AOR = 67.5, 95% CI: 15.42 -
295.44, p Conclusion: The study has shown that despite
women having adequate knowledge, positive
attitudes and perceptions, the number of women who had been screened was
still low. However, middle aged and older women, and positive attitudes were
found to independently influence women to go for cervical cancer screening.
Therefore, attempts should be made to reach women who rarely visit health care
services, for example, through increasing health campaigns in partnership with
other organizations in the area.