Health Behaviour Research Collaborative, School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine, and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.
Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton, NSW, Australia.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 18;19(4):e0300763. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300763. eCollection 2024.
Over recent years, cervical cancer incidence and related mortality have steadily increased in Eswatini. Low cervical cancer screening uptake partly explains the situation. Cervical cancer screening-related knowledge is positively associated with screening uptake. Little is known about women's cervical cancer screening-related knowledge in Eswatini.
This study aimed to assess cervical cancer screening knowledge and associated factors among Eswatini women eligible for screening.
A cross-sectional study involving three hundred and seventy-seven women aged 25 to 59 selected from four primary healthcare clinics in Eswatini was conducted. A paper and pen survey assessed knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors, benefits of screening, the meaning of screening results, recommended screening intervals, and socio-demographics. Descriptive analyses were performed to assess participants' sociodemographic characteristics. Linear regression was applied to examine associations between cervical cancer screening-related knowledge and participants' sociodemographic characteristics.
Two hundred and twenty-nine (61%) participants answered 80% or more knowledge questions correctly. Compared to HIV-positive participants, HIV-negative participants had 0.61 times lower cervical cancer screening knowledge scores (β = -0.39, 95% CI: -0.56, -0.19, p = 0.03). Participants who travelled more than 30 minutes to the clinic had 0.3 times lower cervical cancer screening knowledge scores (β = -0.70, 95% CI: -1.15, -0.25, p < 0.01) compared to participants who travelled less than 30 minutes to the clinic.
Relatively high overall cervical cancer screening knowledge levels were observed among the study participants. Findings from the current study may inform future educational programs to create and sustain an accurate understanding of cervical cancer screening in Eswatini communities.
近年来，斯威士兰的宫颈癌发病率和相关死亡率稳步上升。宫颈癌筛查参与率低在一定程度上解释了这种情况。宫颈癌筛查相关知识与筛查参与率呈正相关。关于斯威士兰妇女的宫颈癌筛查相关知识知之甚少。
本研究旨在评估符合筛查条件的斯威士兰妇女的宫颈癌筛查知识及其相关因素。
在斯威士兰，我们从四家初级保健诊所中选择了 377 名年龄在 25 至 59 岁的妇女进行了一项横断面研究。通过纸笔调查评估了妇女对宫颈癌危险因素、筛查益处、筛查结果含义、推荐筛查间隔以及社会人口统计学等方面的知识。对参与者的社会人口统计学特征进行描述性分析。应用线性回归分析宫颈癌筛查相关知识与参与者社会人口统计学特征之间的关系。
229 名（61%）参与者答对了 80%或更多的知识问题。与 HIV 阳性参与者相比，HIV 阴性参与者的宫颈癌筛查知识得分低 0.61 倍（β=-0.39，95%CI：-0.56，-0.19，p=0.03）。与就诊时间少于 30 分钟的参与者相比，就诊时间超过 30 分钟的参与者的宫颈癌筛查知识得分低 0.3 倍（β=-0.70，95%CI：-1.15，-0.25，p<0.01）。
研究参与者的总体宫颈癌筛查知识水平相对较高。本研究的结果可能为未来的教育项目提供信息，以在斯威士兰社区中建立和维持对宫颈癌筛查的准确理解。
