Assessment of Cervical Cancer Prevention Practice among Female Health Workers at a Level Three Hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Keywords:
Port Harcourt, Health care providers, Pap Smear, Uptake, HPV vaccineAbstract
Background: Cervical cancer though a preventable malignancy is still prevalent in sub-Saharan African and the Human Papillomavirus is recognized as the principal causative agent. Preventive measures have been known to be effective and are provided by healthcare workers.
Objective: To determine the uptake of Human Papillomavirus vaccination and Papanicolaou Smear among female health workers at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study to determine the uptake of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine and Papanicolaou smear among female healthcare providers. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain relevant information from consenting respondents from the major departments in the hospital. Data obtained were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21 software package.
Results: The uptake of Human Papillomavirus vaccine was 2.2% with only 11.3% been screened for cervical cancer by Pap smear. Three hundred and fty-four 95.2%) had good knowledge of Human Papillomavirus vaccine, and 83.1% were aware of the vaccine. The high cost (45.1%) and inability to access (42.1%) the vaccine were the main reasons for the poor uptake of the vaccine. Three hundred and forty-two (94.0%) were willing to take the vaccine if available and affordable.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated a considerable disparity between knowledge and uptake of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine. The low participation in self prevention of cervical cancer may send wrong signals to the general populace, hence reduce community participation. The government at all levels should formulate programmes to ensure availability and utilization of Human Papillomavirus vaccine
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