Awareness, knowledge and experiences of women regarding cervical cancer in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Title:Awareness, knowledge and experiences of women regarding cervical cancer in rural Kwa-Zulu-Natal, South Africa.Background:Cervical cancer has been identified as the second most common cancer in women andcontributes to the high mortality rate in women. Among all cancers in women, cervicalcancer is rated the second most common cancer in women worldwide. In poorlyresourced settings, access to services offering cervical screening is still a challenge and itis estimated that more than 50% of women in developing countries have never had asingle screening test for cervical abnormalities.Purpose:The purpose of this study was to assess women's awareness, attitudes and experiencesregarding cervical smear testing and for cervical cancer in rural KwaZulu-Natal and tobetter understand factors influencing access to and utilization of cervical cancer screeningservices by rural women.Methods:The method employed was a descriptive study using a questionnaire to collect quantitativedata. The sample consisted of 69 women aged 30 years and above, was taken from womenwho were enrolled in the on-going Microbicide Clinical Trial and attending follow-upclinic visits between July and August 2009. The primary outcome measure for theanalyses was who has been screened for cervical cancer and this was assessed from theprevious history reports of the women. The secondary outcome measure was to investigateknowledge and perceptions regarding cervical cancer and screening. Socio-demographicfactors associated with having been screened were also explored.Results:Out of 69 women, only N=13 (18.8%) reported ever screening for cervical cancer. Morethan half of women who had never screened reported lack of information as a barrier toscreening N=50 (71.4%). Older women aged 35-45, 45 and above were less likely toscreen compared to women aged 30 to 34 years of age (OR: 0.06). Having an educationalbackground seemed to increase the likelihood to screen, twice if a woman had primaryeducation (OR 2.0) and almost three times (OR 2.67) if a woman had a secondary or ahigher education. More than half of the respondents considered themselves at risk forcervical cancer N=42 (60.8%) and almost all showed a willingness to screen in the futureN=64 (93%).Conclusion:Most of the women in this study had never been screened for cervical cancer in theirlifetime as reflected by n=55 (82%) while only n=14 (18%) ever screened for cervicalcancer. The results of this study cannot be generalised to the population due to the smallsample size. However, there is need to facilitate comprehensive health education and theimplementation of cervical screening programmes to target women in rural communitiesto contribute to the success of the cervical screening programme. The results of this studyshowed that 60% of respondents were informed by health care professionals on cervicalcancer screening. Health care workers also should play a vital role in educatingcommunities on cervical cancer and on the benefits for cervical cancer screening, throughreaching all patients who utilise health care services with cervical cancer information andalso communities through outreach programmes.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University