Knowledge, Perception and Cervical Cancer Screening Practices among Female Nurses Working in Healthcare Facilities in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer, the 2nd most common form of cancer worldwide, is largely preventable. It occurs more in sexually active and menopausal women of which nurses as the largest group of healthcare giver have an important role to play in early detection, prevention, screening and management. Therefore, nurses’ knowledge, perception and cervical cancer screening practices in Lagos State are sought. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design, using a multi-stage sample technique to select 420 nurses and a semi-structured questionnaire (Cronbach Alpha coefficient range: 0.82- 0.84) research tool was used. The response rate was 96.9%. IBM SPSS version 23 was used in data analysis. The confidence level was 0.05 Results: Findings revealed a mean age of 37.7 ±9.5years, 2/3 of total respondents (66.8%) had BNSc, nearly half, 227(55.8%) had good knowledge of cervical cancer screening and less than half 197(48.4%) had a high perception of cervical cancer screening. The majority 312(76.7%) of the respondents had low cervical cancer screening practices. Respondents’ knowledge of cervical cancer and perception of cervical cancer screening relationship was significant (r =-0.19, p=0.000). Also, respondents age (X2= 11.49, p=0.02); marital status (X2=10.17; p=0.03); and respondents’ ethnicity (X2=10.11; p=0.02), were significant to their cervical cancer screening practices. Contrarily, respondent’s religion (X2=3.35; p=0.09), and level of education (X2=0.88; p=0.64) were not significantly related to cervical cancer screening. Conclusion: Study revealed that respondents had moderately high knowledge, moderate perception of cervical cancer screening but low screening practices. Therefore, nurses should be further resourced in promotional activities and programs through in-service training in providing informative awareness education about cervical cancer screening.