Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Cervical Cancer Screening among Female Undergraduate Students in the College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin

Background: Cervical cancer poses a major threat to women's health, impacting their sexual, reproductive, and overall quality of life. Despite being a leading cause of death among middle-aged women in developing countries, it is largely preventable through early detection and treatment of precancerous lesions. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding cervical cancer screening among female undergraduate students at the College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Nigeria. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with 580 students, selected through multi-stage sampling. Data were collected using structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires and analyzed with IBM SPSS version 22.0. Quantitative data were presented as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, with a p-value of < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of respondents was 20.3 ± 2.6 years. While 79.0% of participants demonstrated good knowledge of cervical cancer screening, only 1.7% had undergone screening. A statistically significant association was found between attitudes and screening practices (χ2 = 4.726, p = 0.030). Among the 98.1% who had never been screened, 74.0% perceived themselves as being at low risk. Despite high levels of knowledge and positive attitudes (80.3%), the actual uptake of screening was very low (1.7%). Conclusion: To address this gap, university health education programs should focus on improving risk perception and promoting cervical cancer screening among students.