KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION ABOUT CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING AND ITS PRACTICE AMONG WOMEN IN GHANA

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the second most regular disease among ladies around the world. About a large portion of a million new cases are recorded worldwide every year. The main objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and perception about cervical cancer screening and its practice among female health care workers in Ghana. The specific objectives were; to determine the level of knowledge on cervical cancer among women; assess women’s attitude and practice towards screening for cervical cancer; determine the perception on cervical cancer among women in Ghana and identify the factors associated with willingness to screen for cervical cancer among women. This study was a cross-sectional design using quantitative study tools to describe the knowledge, attitude and perception about cervical cancer screening and its practice among women  in Ghana using the Eastern region as a case study. Women between the ages of 18 and 64 years who are present in the locality at the time of the study were used as the population for the study. A total of 240 respondents were selected from five selected communities in the New-Juabeng Municipal. A pretested structured questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument for the study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was employed to process the data and to generate descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentage, mean, mode, and standard deviation.  The women in the present study revealed high awareness of cervical cancer. However, with respect to multiple sexual partners and unprotected sex as risk factors of cancer cervix, most of the respondents revealed low awareness. Based on the outcomes of the study, it was recommended that there should be increased education on risk factors of cervical cancer to alleviate possible spikes in cervical cancer cases.