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  • Title: Knowledge and attitude of general outpatient attendants in Nigeria to cervical cancer.
    Author: Ajayi IO, Adewole IF.
    Journal: Cent Afr J Med; 1998 Feb; 44(2):41-3. PubMed ID: 9675971.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVES: This study sets out to determine: a. How much women in low socio-economic settings know about cancer and cervical cancer. b. Their source of information. c. Their general attitude to cervical cancer. DESIGN: A cross sectional study. SETTING: General outpatient (GOP) department of a tertiary hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. SUBJECTS: 254 randomly selected women aged 20 to 65 years attending or visiting the GOP department in a University Teaching Hospital were studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Knowledge about cancer and cervical cancer as well as source of information. RESULTS: The response rate was 100%. Of the respondents, 90% had heard of cancer at one time or the other while only 15% had heard of cervical cancer. The media (38%) and peers (36%) were the major sources of information on cancer. Fifty five percent, 53% and 61% had no knowledge while 40% and 23% had poor to moderate overall knowledge of cervical cancer. CONCLUSION: Knowledge about cervical cancer is poor in these women, unlike findings in developed countries. There is need to educate our women on the early warning signs of cervical cancer as failure to recognise the early symptoms and signs contribute to the late presentation common in Nigeria. A cross-sectional study of 254 randomly selected women 20-65 years of age attending or accompanying someone to the general outpatient department of University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria, assessed knowledge about cervical cancer. 90% of respondents had heard of cancer, most often breast cancer (64.5%). The major sources of knowledge about cancer were the media (38%) and peers (36%). Only 38 women (15%) had heard of cervical cancer. Among those who had at least heard of cervical cancer, 36.8% had no overall knowledge of the disease, 39.5% had poor knowledge, and 23.7% had moderate knowledge. Substantial proportions of these respondents had no knowledge of the description (55.3%), clinical presentation (52.6%), and causes (60.5%) of cervical cancer. These findings will be utilized to design a health education program about cervical cancer. Nigerian women's failure to recognize the early signs of cervical cancer contributes significantly to the late presentation of Nigerian women for medical attention.
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