AWARENESS AND UPTAKE OF CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING AMONG FEMALE STAFF OF UNIVERSITY OF JOS (UNIJOS)

BACKGROUND Cervical cancer is the most common gynecology malignancy in Nigeria, with most of the patients suffering from the advanced stages of the disease. It is however a potentially preventable /curable disease if appropriate vaccination and screening and prophylactic strategies are employed. The lack of awareness and knowledge and awareness result in the underutilization of these prevention servicesve strategies. This study therefore aims to assess the awareness and utilization of cervical cancer screening services among female staff of University Of Jos. METHODOLOGY A cross sectional study design was used to assess the awareness and uptake of cervical cancer screening among 213 female staff of University of Jos. Two hundred and thirteen respondents selected using ……sampling method completed self administered semi-structured questionnaire The respondents were picked using the convenience sampling technique. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version ….statistical software. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistical significant in this study. RESULTS The mean age of respondents the study population was 2.63± 0.969 with the predominant age group within 40-49 years. Respondents were University Staff comprising of 73 academic (36.5%) and 127 non-academic staff (63.5%). The study showed that most of the Staff (86.5%) had tertiary level of education 173(86.5%) and 27(13.5%) had secondary level of education.Most of the respondents From the 200 respondents 123(61.5%) of them were aware of the benefits of cervical cancer screening and 36.5% (73) had been screened at least once by the time of the study. while 23(11.5%) of them were unaware of the screening services. The Study also revealed that of the 200 respondents,127 (63.5%) have never screened for cervical cancer and 73(36.5%) of them have been screened. CONCLUSION Despite the high level of awareness of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening services, the utilization of these services among the female staff of university of Jos is low. Efforts However screening services should be made to make the services more accessible and affordable to increase uptake levels and reduce incidence of invasive cancer. and patients presenting at advanced stages of the disease. KEYWORDS Cervical cancer, HPV, Pap smear, cervical cancer screening, awareness.