Abstract:
Background: Cervical cancer is a major cause of mortality among women of reproductive age
group despite several measures initiated to halt the disease. Organized cytology-based screening
is an effective technique in reducing the incidence and mortality of the disease. However, some
women do not know what the screening is for. This study examined the knowledge on cervical
cancer among women in North Central Nigeria. Method: This cross-sectional study was carried
out on 242 females of age group 15 -55 years using an explorative structured questionnaire-base
method from October - December 2023. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version
26 was used for analysis. Results: The study found that 76.9% of the study population had never
gone for cervical screening and the majority who are willing (60.2%) do not know when and where
to get a screening test. The access to cervical cancer screening services is a major difficulty in the
community. In addition, majority (93.8%) participants who held a higher education certificate or
were currently pursuing an undergraduate degree, lack a clear understanding of the risk factors of
cervical cancer and HPV vaccine. Conclusions: There is paucity of knowledge of the risk factors
of cervical cancer among the study participants. To improve the knowledge, we advocated for
awareness campaigns and affordable cervical cancer screening services.
Keywords: Cervical screening, Demographic factors, HPV vaccination, Nigeria
