Determinants of Cervical Cancer Screening Uptake Among Antenatal Women in a Semi-Urban Hospital in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Background: Cervical cancer remains a major cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality, especially among rural and semi-urban women in developing countries. Cervical cancer screening is a cost-effective method of detecting premalignant lesions of the cervix. The study aims to assess the practice and determinants of cervical cancer screening among women attending antenatal clinics in a semi-urban town of Ebonyi State. Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional study. Three hundred and ninety-six eligible participants were serially selected in the antenatal clinic. Data was analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 21.0. Percentages of the data were expressed. Chi-square was used to test for the level of significance, and P-values of < 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Majority had heard about cervical cancer, 75.2% of them had heard about the screening, and 66.8% of them believed that cervical cancer is preventable. The majority of the women who heard about cervical cancer have never been screened. Knowing that cervical screening was important was the major motivator in 46.8% of the women, while not knowing where to go for the screening was the major barrier. There is a significant relationship between the number of children had by the respondents and the level of uptake of the cervical cancer screening (P<0.05). Conclusion: There was poor uptake of cervical cancer screening among the respondents despite commendable knowledge about cervical cancer and screening. Screening should be widely available in semi-urban areas and should be effectively incorporated into other existing health services.