KNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPTABILITY OF CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING AMONG FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA.

ABSTRACT Background- Cervical cancer has been a significant public health issue, especially in middle and low-income countries. It is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, with its contribution to cancer burden, significant across all cultures and economies. Most of the cervical cancer cases are diagnosed late leading to poor outcomes particularly in women living in developing countries particularly the Sub-Sahara Africa. However, there are many barriers towards cervical cancer screening in middle and low-income countries which includes lack of knowledge coupled with poor attitude towards cervical cancer screening. Methods- This was an institution based cross-sectional study among undergraduate female students in Babcock University. Pretested, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Two hundred and fifty-five students were recruited by multistage sampling method and the data were entered and analysed using SPSS version 26 statistical packages. Result- More than half of the respondents 56.1% had good knowledge, whereas 62.7% of the respondents had favourable attitude towards cervical cancer. However, only 92 (36.1%) and 68 (26.7%) of the respondents had been screened for cervical cancer and received the Human papilloma virus vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer. The reasons for the low level for cervical screening were no time to go for screening and not knowing where screening can be done. Conclusion- There is urgent need to improve the knowledge and attitude of students and mobilize them to strengthen the uptake of cervical cancer screening in order to prevent cervical cancer. Keywords: Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer screening, Knowledge, Attitude.