| dc.description.abstract | Background: Cervical cancer is the uncontrolled growth of some cells on the cervix (the mouth of the womb).If these abnormal cells are not detected early they can develop into cancer of the cervix. The process cancer growth happens slowly over a period of years.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the level of uptake of and the factors influencing the uptake of cervical cancer screening among women of Reproductive age in Iganga District.
Methods: This was a cross sectional study that was conducted in four different counties in Iganga district. It involved a survey that used a semi structured pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaires and review of policies related to cervical cancer.
Results:
Majority of the women who were interviewed 447 (86%) had never gone for cervical cancer screening services despite the availability of the service in the district. Among the reasons that women gave for not seeking cervical cancer screening services included:, majority 172(38.55%) said they didn’t know where to find the service and this was followed by those who confessed that they feared to get bad results,155(34.69%).
The independent predictors for uptake of cervical cancer screening in the study that was positively associated with cervical cancer screening included having attended school and being employed. It showed that women who had ever gone to school were more likely to go for cervical cancer screening than those who had never gone to school. (Primary level, OR 10.8, CI-2.7-44.2, P-0.0001, Secondary, OR 38.0, CI-9-16, and Tertiary, OR3.32, CI-1.03-10.7, p-
0.044).The women who were employed were 7 times more likely to seek cervical cancer screening services than the unemployed (OR-7.23, CI-2.85-18.3). The women who were living >5km from the health facility were 0.3times less likely to seek the service compared to those who were living in areas that were <5km.
The attitude of the health workers had an influence on the women’s uptake of cervical cancer screening as evidenced by the OR -0.28, OR-0.47; Poor attitude, Fair attitude respectively. This meant that the women who ranked that health workers attitude was poor, were less likely to seek the service than those who ranked it good.
The women who agreed that cervical cancer can make a woman’s life difficulty were 5times more likely to take part in cervical cancer screening than those who disagreedOR-5.8, CI-3.2-10.4 p<0.001)).However, some factors were negatively associated with cervical cancer screening uptake and these included: some perceived severity and barrier to cancer screening as below.
The women who said that cancer can easily cure showed that they were 1.9 times unlikely to participate in cervical cancer screening.(OR,1.9,CI,0.7-5.4 ).
Those who agreed that cervical cancer can result into infertility were 0.6times unlikely to take part in cervical cancer screening than those who disagreed.(OR,0.6,p.0.046).
Conclusions: The level of uptake of cervical cancer screening was found to very low, just about quarter of the women interviewed had ever screened for cervical cancer in the last three years. The low uptake of cervical cancer Screening services is due to a number of factors like poor educational background, lack of information regarding the availability and benefits of screening, and unavailability of the service at all health centers. | en_US |
