Department of Advanced Nursing Science
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Browsing Department of Advanced Nursing Science by Author "Goon, Daniel T."
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Item Open Access Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening Services among Women in Vhembe District, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study(Bentham Open, 2018-10-16) Vhuromu, Elisa N.; Goon, Daniel T.; Maputle, Maria S.; Lebese, Rachel T.; Okafor, Benedine U.; Vhuromu, E. N., Goon, D. T., Maputle, M. S., Lebese, R. T. and Okafor, B. U. Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening Services among Women in Vhembe District, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study. The Open Public Health Journal 2018; 11, 451-463. Available from : www.bethamopen.com/TOPHJ/ [Doi: 10.2174/1874944501811010451]..Aim: Screening for early detection and treatment of cervical cancer is a cornerstone of prevention. The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness in women about the utilization of cervical cancer screening services in Vhembe District, South Africa. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved a random selection of 500 women aged 20-59 years in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data was collected via a self-structured questionnaire on the demographic variables, provision, utilization and awareness of cervical cancer screening services. Results: The majority of the participants agreed to have cervical cancer screening services in their clinics (79.2%), and never had a Pap smear (58.6%). Most women would not go for cervical cancer screening, mainly because of a lack of facilities (30.0%), fear of pain (24.4%), and embarrassment (15.2%). Most participants indicated that Pap smear test meant scraping the cervix to detect abnormal cancerous cells (39.2%) and 34.2% did not know a Pap smear. Majority of the participants indicated Pap smears should be done every 10 years (65.8%); Pap smears could detect cervical cancer earlier (66.8%), and had heard about cervical cancer (71.6%). The majority of the participants considered cervical cancer as a serious problem to warrant considerable attention (59.4%); and some perceived cervical cancer as transmittable through multiple sexual partners (22.2%). The majority of the participants were aware of a vaccine against cervical cancer for girls at school (69.0%), and it was indicated that government should use health education to encourage women to attend cervical screening services (51.6%). Conclusion: Despite the free availability of cervical cancer screening services and awareness, the utilization of cervical cancer screening services is low. There is a need to intensify cervical screening health talks and campaigns, and to provide alternative accessible options for screening services for women in rural areas.