Health Behaviour Research Collaborative, School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine, and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
Health Promot Int. 2022 Aug 1;37(4). doi: 10.1093/heapro/daac103.
Eswatini has the highest age-standardized incidence and second highest mortality rate related to cervical cancer globally. In Eswatini, community health workers educate communities about cervical cancer screening. They need to have accurate knowledge about cervical cancer and screening to do this effectively. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess knowledge regarding cervical cancer screening among community health workers in Eswatini. A telephone survey of 172 community health workers from eight selected constituencies was conducted. Descriptive analyses were performed to assess participants' socio-demographic and service-related characteristics. Linear regression was applied to investigate factors associated with cervical cancer screening-related knowledge. One hundred and seven (62%) participants answered at least 80% of the questions correctly. However, knowledge regarding cervical cancer risk factors, the meaning of screening results and Eswatini cervical cancer screening guidelines was suboptimal. Community health workers aged 46-55 were more likely (β = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.39-2.15, p < 0.01) to have a higher cervical cancer screening knowledge score than those aged 30-45 years. Community health workers from Lubombo were marginally less likely (β = -0.83, 95% CI: -1.80 to -0.04, p = 0.05) to have a higher knowledge score than those from Hhohho. This study suggests knowledge deficits amongst community health workers in Eswatini. Knowledge deficits may result in inaccurate information being communicated to clients. While increasing knowledge of these vital health workers may not be sufficient to increase cervical cancer screening rates in Eswatini, it is an essential first step that should be the focus of future educational efforts.
斯威士兰的宫颈癌发病率标准化年龄最高，全球死亡率第二高。在斯威士兰，社区卫生工作者向社区宣传宫颈癌筛查知识。为了有效地开展这项工作，他们需要对宫颈癌和筛查有准确的认识。因此，本研究旨在评估斯威士兰社区卫生工作者对宫颈癌筛查的知识。通过电话调查了来自八个选区的 172 名社区卫生工作者。采用描述性分析评估参与者的社会人口统计学和服务相关特征。应用线性回归分析调查与宫颈癌筛查相关知识相关的因素。有 107 名（62%）参与者答对了至少 80%的问题。然而，他们对宫颈癌危险因素、筛查结果的含义以及斯威士兰宫颈癌筛查指南的了解还不够理想。46-55 岁的社区卫生工作者比 30-45 岁的社区卫生工作者（β=1.27，95%置信区间[CI]：0.39-2.15，p<0.01）更有可能具有更高的宫颈癌筛查知识评分。来自卢邦博的社区卫生工作者比来自霍霍霍的社区卫生工作者（β=-0.83，95%CI：-1.80 至-0.04，p=0.05）更有可能具有较低的宫颈癌筛查知识评分。本研究表明斯威士兰社区卫生工作者存在知识缺陷。知识缺陷可能导致向客户传达不准确的信息。虽然增加这些重要卫生工作者的知识可能不足以提高斯威士兰的宫颈癌筛查率，但这是必要的第一步，应该是未来教育努力的重点。
