Knowledge of Cervical Cancer Screening and Associated Socio-Demographic Factors among Women of Reproductive Age in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

This study investigated knowledge of cervical cancer screening and associated socio-demographic factors among women of reproductive age in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State. The descriptive survey research design was adopted with a population consisting of 43,068 women of childbearing age (15-49years) in Ahoada East Local Government Area. The sample size for the study was 435. The multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.78. Data analysis was carried out with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS V-27) using statistical tools such as percentage and Chi-square set at 0.05 alpha level. The finding of the study showed that the level of knowledge of cervical cancer screening was average (38.7%). The result shows that there was a statistically significant association between socio-demographic factors [age (X2-value = 42.05, df = 4, p<0.05), education (X2-value = 67.26, df = 6, p<0.05) and marital status (X2-value = 18.43, df = 6, p<0.05)] and knowledge of cervical cancer screening. It was concluded that women of reproductive age in Ahoada East had good knowledge of cervical cancer screening. It was recommended among others that, there is the need for public health practitioners to establish a sustainable awareness campaign about cervical cancer screening through the media and other channels of communication.