Impact of an intrahospital awareness strategy on attendance to the cervical cancer screening unit of the Yaoundé university teaching hospital cameroon

Background: Approximately 1500 women in Cameroon die annually from cervical cancer, but only 8% of women at risk have undergone cervical cancer screening. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of an intrahospital awareness strategy on the frequency of cervical cancer screening at Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital(YUTH). Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study (before/after) was conducted at the Yaoundé UTH. It involved women who received an awareness of cervical cancer intervention at the Yaoundé CHU (intervention group) and those who did not (without intervention group) for 4 months (March to June) of 2 consecutive years (2016 and 2017). Proportions, central tendency parameters (mean or median), odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: A total of 1,313 women participated in screening for cervical cancer, of whom 40.60% were in the without intervention group and 59.40% were in the intervention group. The level of education and marital status were heterogeneously distributed in the two groups (P < 0.05). Women with a higher education level and who were married were more likely to participate in cervical cancer screening after intrahospital sensitization (OR [95% CI] = 5.64 [4.41–7.20] and OR [95% CI] = 1.48 [1.19–1.85], respectively). Conclusion: An intrahospital awareness intervention increased the number of participants in screening for cervical cancer. There is a need to implement this strategy in other hospitals and place particular emphasis on sensitizing less educated and single women.