Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of cervical cancer prevention among health workers in rural health centres of Northern Uganda

Abstract

Background Cervical cancer is a leading cancer and cause of premature death among women in Uganda aged 15 to 44 years. To address the increasing burden of cervical cancer in Uganda, the Ministry of Health has adopted several strategies which include public education and advocacy. This study aims to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practice of cervical cancer prevention among health workers employed in rural health centres (HCs) III and IV in the Acholi sub-region of Northern Uganda. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of nurses, midwives, and clinical officers between February and April 2019 using self-administered questionnaire. We sampled fifty-four HCs III and eight HCs IV. In Uganda, HCs are structured from HC I to HC IV and the health care package provided increases with increasing level of the HC. We used Epidata version 3.1 to create database and analysis was performed using Stata 16. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. Factors with p-values ≤ 0.05 were considered as predictors of outcome. Results There were 286 participants who completed the questionnaire: Majority (188, 66%) were females. Nurses were 153 (54%). 141 (75%) female participants self-reported to have been screened for cervical cancer. 171 (60%) participants had adequate knowledge of cervical cancer. 187 (66%) participants had positive attitudes. Participants who indicated not to have ever received training on cervical cancer screening were less likely to have adequate knowledge (AOR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.21–0.71). Participants who indicated not to have ever been trained on cervical cancer screening were less likely to have positive attitudes (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.28–0.97). Conclusion Health workers from rural HCs in Uganda play crucial role in cervical cancer prevention as they can reach a wider community. Their significance in the prevention of cervical cancer points to the need for Uganda and other sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) countries to establish training to improve their knowledge, attitudes, and practical skills on cervical cancer screening. Furthermore, Uganda government should develop and disseminate guidelines for cervical cancer prevention to rural health workers to promote standardised cervical cancer prevention activities.

Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals working in a training and research hospital on early diagnosis of cervical cancer (a Somalia example): cross-sectional study

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Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Cervical Cancer Screening Among Female University Students in Ishaka Western Uganda

“…However, implementing effective screening programs for early detection of precancerous lesion has been difficult in most under developing countries, particularly in Uganda. 2 , 10 This trend is particularly expected to be higher among the vulnerable population including students, who were significantly affected by the lockdown following the closure of schools and suspension of academic activities. 11–17 …”

Lysophosphatidic acid protects cervical cancer HeLa cells from apoptosis induced by doxorubicin hydrochloride

“…Cervical cancer is one of the most common types of gynecological tumors (7). An estimated 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year worldwide, which leads to 280,000 cancer-related deaths annually (8).…”