Annals of Health Research (Dec 2016)
Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening Services Among Female Medical Practitioners in Ogun State, South-West Nigeria
Abstract
Background: There is an increasing awareness of cancer screening services in the general population, but the uptake of the services varies. Objective: To determine the uptake of cervical cancer screening services among female medical doctors as service providers. Methods: This was a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional, descriptive study of female doctors practising in Ogun State, Nigeria. The questionnaires were self-administered, and convenience sampling method was used. Results: A total of 85 female doctors were surveyed. A little over half of the respondents (57.6%) reported routine medical checks and 54.2% of the respondents had a check up in the last two years. Seventy percent of the respondents who had a routine medical check-up and screening for cervical cancer were within the age range 31-50 years, and there were significant relationships between age and routine medical check-up and screening for cervical cancer (p values =0.014 and 0.005 respectively. Thirty-three of the respondents (39.8%) had ever been screened for cervical cancer while only 30.1% of the respondents had been screened for cervical cancer in the last three years. The majority of the respondents (59.8%) did not approve of making cervical cancer screening a condition for social benefits. Conclusion: Female medical doctors had a low uptake rate for cervical cancer screening services. The low uptake may adversely affect the cervical cancer screening campaigns targeted at the general population. Mandatory cervical cancer screening, as a prerequisite for social benefit, may improve the uptake rates for the screening services.
