Knowledge and Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening Services among Nurses in Ibadan, Oyo State

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer among women in Nigeria. It is one of the leading causes of cancer related death among women in developing countries. However, uptake of cervical screening is reported to be low even among health workers. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and uptake of cervical screening among nurses. A cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire-based survey for 175 nurses in eight selected health facilities in Ibadan was carried out. Results: The results showed respondents' knowledge of cervical cancer as being fair. Uptake of cervical cancer screening was poor, as 126 (80.0%) of the respondents had never been screened. Also, 78 (44.6%) of them had never given information on cervical cancer to women. In addition, 108 (72.0%) of the respondents stated that the screening service was not available in their centre. There was no significant relationship between knowledge and uptake of cervical cancer screening, (p=0.88). Conclusion: Despite the fair knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention by nurses, their cervical cancer preventive practices were poor. Nurses should be mandated to play their disease prevention role by sensitizing women on the need for screening; and that screening service should be made available in all facilities.