Knowledge Attitude and Determinants of Cervical Cancer Screening Uptake Among Age-Eligible Women and Male Partners in Makurdi North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: To inform effective intervention strategies, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and determinants of cervical cancer screening (CCS) among women and their male partners in Makurdi, North-Central Nigeria.

Method: A convergent parallel mixed-methods study involving a cross-sectional descriptive study of 288 women aged 25 to 65 years and key informant interviews (KIIs) with 10 women and 10 male partners across five primary health care centers in Makurdi, North-Central Nigeria. Data were collected using an interviewer-guided online questionnaire (KoboToolbox) and a semi-structured interview guide. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corporation). Qualitative data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically.

Result: Participants were primarily traders (41.0%) with secondary education (46.2%) and a monthly income below 30,000 Naira (19.44 USD) (50.7%). Cervical cancer (CC) awareness was low (28.8%), with limited knowledge of HPV vaccination (15.6%). Despite high willingness to screen (94.8%), screening rates were minimal (3.1%). Support for CCS and HPV vaccination was high (94.4% and 92.7%, respectively). Key determinants of CCS uptake included age (≥40 years), family history of CC, and knowledge of HPV vaccination. The key informant interviews corroborated these findings. Poor knowledge of CC and CCS as well as low uptake of CCS were observed among the respondents. They however expressed positive intentions towards CCS.

Conclusion: The study underscores inadequate knowledge of CC and its prevention, highlighting the necessity for targeted awareness campaigns and enhanced involvement of male partners to boost CCS uptake and reduce cervical cancer incidence among Nigerian women.

Keywords: Knowledge; Makurdi; age-eligible women; cervical cancer screening; male partners.