Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 13388, Windhoek, 9000, Namibia.
Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, P O Box PBag×1 Nelson Mandela Drive Campus, Mthatha, 5099, South Africa.
BMC Womens Health. 2022 Apr 21;22(1):126. doi: 10.1186/s12905-022-01698-x.
Cervical cancer is one of the leading malignancies globally and has taken third place in Namibia amongst women aged 15-44 years. Infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been proven to increase women's susceptibility to developing cervical carcinoma. Sadly, Namibia carries a twin burden of HIV and cervical cancer. Namibians are aware of HIV/AIDS, but remain poorly informed about cervical cancer. Furthermore, among those who are aware of the disease, low utilisation of screening tests have been reported.
The purpose was to explore perceptions and attitudes held by women about cervical cancer, reasons for low uptake of Pap smear testing amongst those who are aware of the malignancy as well as unearth motivation factors that has fuelled women to go for screening.
A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling as a sampling technique. The survey instrument used was a self-administered questionnaire. It consisted of both closed and open ended questions. A total of 136 women were surveyed.
The level of awareness for cervical cancer (92.6%) and Pap smear (93.4%) were high. Most were able to identify that Pap smear test is used for screening for pre-cancerous lesions. However, knowledge about the impact of a HIV positive status along with co infection with HPV as the leading causes for progression of invasive cervical carcinoma was not well known. Knowledge about the other risk factors such as multiple sexual partners (39.7%), early sex debut (34.9%) and smoking was poorly demonstrated. This suggests that a high awareness level does not necessarily translate into having a good perception or understanding of a disease. A good attitude towards screening was observed although less than half of the study population reported ever having a test done.
宫颈癌是全球主要的恶性肿瘤之一，在纳米比亚，15-44 岁的女性中，宫颈癌排名第三。人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）感染已被证实会增加女性患宫颈癌的易感性。不幸的是，纳米比亚同时面临着 HIV 和宫颈癌的双重负担。纳米比亚人了解艾滋病毒/艾滋病，但对宫颈癌知之甚少。此外，在那些了解这种疾病的人中，报道称筛查测试的利用率很低。
旨在探讨女性对宫颈癌的认知和态度，以及那些了解这种恶性肿瘤的女性中巴氏涂片检测率低的原因，并发现促使女性进行筛查的动机因素。
采用便利抽样法进行描述性、横断面研究。调查工具采用自填式问卷，包括封闭式和开放式问题。共调查了 136 名妇女。
宫颈癌（92.6%）和巴氏涂片（93.4%）的知晓率较高。大多数人能够识别出巴氏涂片检查用于筛查癌前病变。然而，对于 HIV 阳性状态以及 HPV 合并感染作为宫颈癌进展的主要原因对癌症进展的影响的知识了解不足。对其他风险因素如多个性伴侣（39.7%）、初次性行为早（34.9%）和吸烟的了解较差。这表明高知晓率并不一定转化为对疾病的良好认知或理解。观察到对筛查的良好态度，尽管只有不到一半的研究人群报告曾进行过检测。
