Correlates of intention to screen for cervical cancer among adult women in Kyotera District, Central Uganda: a community based cross-sectional study. BMC Womens Health 2024 May 18;24(1):296
Date
05/19/2024Pubmed ID
38762723Pubmed Central ID
PMC11102156DOI
10.1186/s12905-024-03129-5Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85193486268 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 4 CitationsAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer continues to pose a major public health challenge in low-income countries. Cervical cancer screening programs enable early detection and effectively reduce the incidence of cervical cancer as well as late-stage diagnosis and mortality. However, screening uptake remains suboptimal in Uganda. This study assessed correlates of intention to screen for cervical cancer among women in the Kyotera district of Central Uganda.
METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data collected to determine the effectiveness of community audio towers (CATs) as a modality of health communication to support cervical cancer prevention. Women (n = 430) aged 21-60 years without a prior history of cervical cancer screening were surveyed about demographics, sources of health information and cervical cancer screening intentions in 2020. We used generalized linear modelling with modified Poisson regression and backwards variable elimination to identify adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to determine factors associated with intention to screen for cervical cancer.
RESULTS: Half (50.2%) of the participants had intentions to screen for cervical cancer within twelve months and 26.5% had moderate knowledge about cervical cancer. Nearly half (46.0%) considered themselves at risk of cervical cancer. Compared to residents who primarily received their health information from social media and radio, participants who received health information primarily from CATs (aPR:0.64, 95% CI:0.52-0.80, p < 0.001) and TV (aPR:0.52, 95% CI:0.34-0.82, p = 0.005) had a lower prevalence of intention to screen for cervical cancer. The prevalence of intentions to screen for cervical cancer in twelve months was higher among those resided in town councils (aPR:1.44, 95% CI:1.12-1.86, p = 0.004) compared to rural areas, and higher among those who considered themselves to be at risk of cervical cancer (aPR:1.74, 95% CI:1.28-2.36, p < 0.001) compared to those who did not.
CONCLUSIONS: We found suboptimal prevalence of intentions to screen for cervical cancer among women in central Uganda. Additional research and implementation projects are needed to increase cervical cancer screening. Targeting risk perceptions and behavioral approaches to increase intentions could be effective in future intervention work. Based on urban-rural differences, additional work is needed to support equitable sharing of information to support cancer prevention messaging; CATs and TV may best help reach those with lower intentions to screen based on our research.
Author List
Kiconco A, Kabanda R, Ronald A, Beyer KMM, John SAAuthors
Ronald Anguzu MD, PhD Assistant Professor in the Institute for Health and Humanity department at Medical College of WisconsinKirsten M. Beyer PhD, MPH Professor in the Institute for Health and Humanity department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultCross-Sectional Studies
Early Detection of Cancer
Female
Health Communication
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Intention
Uganda
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
