Awareness and Self-Perceived Risk of Cervical Cancer among Women Living in Namuwongo, an Informal Settlement in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among women of reproductive age in sub Saharan Africa. However there is limited data on the level of awareness and perceived risk among women in peri urban slums of which most of the occupants are mainly women of reproductive age. Methods:We carried out a population based cross-sectional study in Namuwongo, a peri urban slum in Kampala in 2016. Data was collected using a pretested interviewer administered questionnaire, entered and analyzed using SPSS 22.0.Results: Most participants, 259/311 (83.3%) had heard about cervical cancer and (87.5%) knew that cervical cancer can be prevented by early detection. Their main sources of information included Media such as radio and TV (47.6%) and healthcare professionals at the health facility (37.6%), friends and family (14.1%). Almost half of the participants (47.9 %) didn't know about the possibility of prevention of cervical cancer through HPV vaccination. About 219/311 (70.4%) perceived themselves to be at risk for cervical cancer in this study. Although majority had heard about cervical cancer, 209 (67.2%) didn't know of any signs and symptoms of cervical cancer and the mean age of HPV vaccination mentioned was 2.41 (± 0.77), much younger than the current recommended age category of 10-14 years. The mean age for starting screening was 10.77 (± 9.87) compared to the normal recommended age of screening 21 and above. Conclusion:Most of participants in this study had heard about cervical cancer although their knowledge of symptoms, preventive measures and importance of cervical cancer screening was low. Majority of the women perceived that they were at risk of developing cervical cancer although they were hardly knowledgeable of any reasons for their perceptions. There is need for more public awareness campaigns to provide detailed in-depth information to enhance knowledge on cervical cancer in informal settlements like slum populations.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices in Cervical Cancer Screening in Kakamega County, Kenya

“…In a cross-sectional study on women's knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer prevention in Eastern Uganda, Mukama et al (2017) found that up to 85% of participants knew at least one symptom or indicator of cervical cancer. Contrary to this result, two other researches (Ajambo et al, 2017& Tesfaye et al, 2019 found that participants in Uganda and Ethiopia had insufficient awareness about cervical cancer and its causes. According to Mahumud1 et al, 2020, women's knowledge and use of CCS services is unequally distributed in Low-and Middle-Income Countries, with socioeconomically poor women in the majority of countries.…”

“…In a study done by Tsegaye et al, 2018 in Ethiopia, more than half of participants had a positive attitude towards CCS. Studies done by Tapera et al, 2017 in Botswana andAjambo et al, 2017 in Uganda found that majority of participants felt at risk of developing cervical cancer. Similarly, in other studies done by & Ajambo et al, (2017), in Uganda and western Kenya respectively, majority of participants who had ever heard of CCS felt at risk for CC although their specific knowledge was generally low.…”

“…These means of communication include healthcare workers during visitation to the health facilities or during outreach activities, print media, electronic media, and friends/family members or through lay health workers. The radio (media) and healthcare professionals have been found to be the main sources of information about CC in studies done in Uganda by Ajambo et al, (2017) and Mukama et al, (2017). However, in a study done in Botswana by Tapera et al, (2017) on students, majority of participants got information from print media while minority of participants heard from health care workers within health facilities.…”

“…According to the findings of a study conducted in Ethiopia (Tsegaye et al, 2018), 56.8% of participants were aware of cervical cancer screening. Almost everybody in a Ugandan population-based cross-sectional survey (Ajambo et al, 2017) had heard of cervical cancer. Women get to know about CCS through various means depending on the environment.…”

Perceptions of key informants on the provision of cervical cancer prevention and control programme in Uganda: implication for cervical cancer policy

“…In Uganda, cervical cancer annual mortality is alarming at 2275 death (27.2 deaths per 100,000 women) [60]. There is a high level of community awareness about cervical cancer [61][62][63]. However, for the community to participate in effective advocacy, they need to be mobilised so that they can campaign for better services.…”