Preference For Cervical Cancer Education: A Multisite Cross-Sectional Survey of Female Senior High School Students in Ghana

Abstract

Cervical cancer incidence continues to rise in Ghana. To enhance knowledge and prevention of cervical cancer among young people in Ghana, there is a need to better understand their education preferences. The study aimed to describe female senior school students’ preferences for receiving cervical cancer education. A cross-sectional survey of students from 17 schools in the Ashanti Region of Ghana assessed the strength of preference for receiving cervical cancer education from a range of sources, settings and delivery mediums. Of the 2400 participants (aged 16–24 years), the majority endorsed doctors (87%, 95%CI: 85–88%), nurses (80%, 95%CI: 78–82%) and credible health organisations (78%, 95%CI%: 76–79%) as their preferred source of education, and hospitals 83% (95%CI: 81–84%) as the preferred setting. Nearly all students (92%) endorsed at least three cervical cancer education delivery mediums, with at least three quarters endorsing television (78%, 95%CI: 77–80%), one-on-one health consultation in-person or online (77%, 95%CI: 75–79%; 75%, 95%CI: 73–77%), and health information websites (75%, 95%CI: 73–77%). Findings suggest that cervical cancer education efforts among female senior school students in Ghana should consider the use of a range of more resource-intensive individualised approaches to low-cost anonymous, generic approaches from credible sources and institutions.