Abstract:

Background: Cervical cancer, which is preventable, is the second most common female cancer among women in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), but in Tanzania is the leading cause of cancer and cancer-related deaths among women. Screening of women aged 30 years or more and timely management as well as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination among 9-14 years girls are two preventive methods recommended by the WHO and adapted in Tanzania. In Tanzania cervical screening using VIA started in 2011. However there is limited information on coverage of testing among women of reproductive age (WRA) and associated factors.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, uptake and factors associated with cervical cancer screening among women of reproductive age in Butiama district in Mara region.

Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in April – July 2022 in Butiama district. The study population included women of reproductive age (18-49 years) who were the permanent residence of that particular area. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select wards and study participants. Face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire was used for data collection then data was entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS.

Results: A total of 200 participants were enrolled, proportion of women who majority, 140(70%) of the females interviewed were young adults between the ages of 20 and 30. Have screened for cervical cancer was 68%. Of the 200, 92% have ever heard cervical cancer, but 40% had low comprehensive knowledge on causes (86%), risk factors and prevention measures for cervical cancer. Low community awareness/education, lack of knowledge on places to screen and cost were three frequent reasons for barriers for cervical cancer screening.

Conclusion: The study revealed the low level of knowledge and uptake of cervical screening among women of reproductive age to be 66(33.0%) and 68(34%) respectively. In this study, level of education, place of residence, seen anyone with cervical cancer and parity of a woman were predictors of level of knowledge a woman had about cervical cancer. Women who had more than primary education were more likely to be aware about cervical cancer compared to women who had no formal education, similar findings were reported. Despite the fact that the awareness of cervical cancer was high, it was not a necessary factor for the uptake of cervical cancer screening. The lack knowledge about cervical cancer can be partly explained that, the disease has not received the attention it deserves despite the fact that it is the most common female cancer in sub-Sahara Africa.