Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Women towards Cervical Cancer and Screening at the Tamale Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Cervical cancer-related deaths among Ghanaian women are often due to late diagnosis of the disease. Knowledge about the disease and early screening is the most effective measure for cervical cancer prevention. Poor knowledge or lack of awareness, negative attitude, and poor practice of cervical cancer screening is the major causes to increase the incidence of disease.

The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of women seeking an obstetrics and gynaecological services at the Tamale Teaching Hospitals towards cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening. A quantitative study using a descriptive cross-sectional design was used. The population for the study was 360 women aged between 18 and 59 years seeking an obstetrics and gynaecological services at the Tamale Teaching Hospital from July-August 2021. The research finding revealed that women visiting the Tamale Teaching Hospital’s obstetrics and the gynaecological department had an acceptable understanding of cervical cancer. The majority of the respondents had their knowledge of cervical cancer from media according to the survey.

The research used a total of 360 women aged 18 years and above as respondents. The mean age was 30 years (± 10.8). At the end of the research, the Misconception that cervical cancer could only affect older women and women with children was a determinant of whether a woman will screen for cervical cancer or not.