Awareness and Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in the Maternity Clinic in a Tertiary Health Institution in Northern Nigeria

Export Background: Carcinoma of the cervix is one of the gravest threats to women’s lives. It is the fourth most common cancer among women globally and the third leading cause of death. It is primarily caused by symptom-free, persistent, or chronic infection with one or more of the high-risk (oncogenic type) human papilloma virus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted. Cervical cancer is a primarily preventable disease by vaccinating young girls against HPV and screening for precancerous lesions. The major reason for the huge difference in the incidence of cervical cancer between developed and developing countries is the awareness and availability, affordability, and uptake of screening services. Awareness of cervical cancer screening has been low in most developing countries. The aim of this study aim was to assess the awareness and uptake of cervical cancer screening among women at the maternity unit of Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, from 1st November 2023 to 25th February 2024. Ethical approval was sought for and obtained from Hospital’s Human Research and Ethical Committee. Methods: The study is a descriptive cross-sectional study among women at the maternity unit of FMC, Birnin-Kebbi. A total of 250 women were enrolled in this study, and both verbal and written agreement were obtained from the study participants. Results: The relevant information was extracted from the questionnaire, entered, and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 22 (Chicago, USA). This study showed that the majority of respondents 198 (79.8%) were between the ages of 21 and 35 years. Most of the women 168 (67.7%) were aware of cervical cancer screening, and there was a significant relationship between educational status and screening awareness. However, only 4.8% of the women had undergone cervical cancer screening. There is no statistically significant relationship between educational status and screening uptake. Conclusions: This study revealed that most of the women in the study area were aware of cervical cancer screening. There was an association between educational status of the respondents and screening awareness; however, there was no association between educational status and cervical cancer screening uptake.