Original Research Article
Year: 2022 | Month: February | Volume: 9 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 419-424
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20220253
Association of Demographic Characteristics and Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening Services among Women in Ikwerre, Southern Nigeria
Okachi-Ordu, C.1, Nworuh, O.B.2, Nwaokoro, J.C.3, Ibe, S.N.O.4
1-4Department of Public Health, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.
Corresponding Author: Okachi-Ordu, C.
ABSTRACT
Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in developing countries. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out to investigate the utilization of cervical cancer screening services among women in Ikwerre, Southern Nigeria. The multi stage sampling technique was used to select 399 women between the ages of 21 and 65years for this study. A well-structured questionnaire after being validated and tested for reliability was administered to the participants. An informed consent was also obtained from all the participants in this study. Chi-square was used to test the relationship between variables at p=0.05 significant level. Results showed that demographic characteristics found to be associated with utilization of cervical cancer screening services in this study were age 12(12.4%) at P= 0.001, marital status 14(9.5%) at P= 0.002, education 19(9.0%) at P= 0.001, number of children 14(6.8%) at P= 0.009 and income level 19 (45.2%) at P= 0.001. From the findings of this study, utilization of cervical cancer screening services among women in Ikwerre was abysmally low. It was recommended that medical personnel play a major role in enlightening the public on the importance of cervical cancer screening and availability of the screening services. The government should also ensure that the cost of the screening service was made affordable.
Keywords: Cervical cancer, Screening, Demography, Utilization.
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