Awareness and Utilisation of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Mothers Attending Antenatal and Postnatal Clinics at a State Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer is preventable when detected early by screening for the presence of abnormal cells on the uterine cervix. This study assessed awareness and utilisation of cervical cancer screening services among mothers attending antenatal and postnatal clinics at State Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the authors used a simple random sampling technique to select 330 respondents. Two hundred and twenty-one and 109 respondents from antenatal and postnatal clinics, respectively, were selected randomly. Participants were required to complete a self-structured questionnaire at both clinics, and the collected data was analysed using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Results: The mean age of the respondents was 27±1.29 years, with the majority being married. While 59.8% of the women were aware of cervical cancer screening, the utilisation of cervical cancer screening services was low, with the majority (63.9%) never having undergone the screening. Factors like young age, insufficient knowledge, and lack of awareness of cervical cancer screening services affected its utilisation. Conclusion: Results indicate an urgent need for the promotion of healthcare-seeking behaviours by relevant stakeholders. Avenues for promoting this could be awareness programmes about the availability of screening services and their benefits, through media, places of worship, women’s groups, and during routine medical checks. This will improve cervical cancer screening utilisation services among women, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa.