Abstract:

Background: Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women and 80% of the cases occurin developing countries. Strategies to prevent cervical cancer include HPV vaccination, cervical screening, and early treatment, which have been established across the world. The WHO issued a global call for action toward cervical cancer elimination by the year 2030. Knowledge and perception about cervical cancer in girls aged 15-18 years might influence HPV vaccination uptake and cervical cancer screening. Understanding the level of knowledge and perception among girls about cervical cancer in regard to HPV infection and HPV vaccination may help to understand the extent to which education about cervical cancer may be needed.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge and perception of cervical cancer and its prevention among girls aged 15–18 years living in Nyamagana district, Mwanza,Tanzania.

Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study which was carried out in Nyamagana District, Mwanza, Tanzania from June to July 2022. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using STATA® 15.0. Demographic characteristics were summarized as frequency and mean or median, and the chi-square test was used to show the association between categorical variables. Bivariate logistic regression was done to find the final factors associated with knowledge and perception. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 440 girls were enrolled in a study with an age range of 15–18 years. The mean age ±SD was 16.42 ± 0.94 years, and the majority of the participants (44.6 %, n=196) had moderate knowledge of cervical cancer, and only (64.3%, n=292) of the participants reported that the disease could be prevented. Perception of cervical cancer disease and its prevention among the respondents showed that 66.4% (n=292) of the subjects had a "good perception". Girls who received secondary education or higher (42%), were more likely to have adequate knowledge about HPV vaccination uptake than those who received primary education only. Girls who completed secondary school or higher were 32% (p-value 0.001) less likely to have a negative perception of HPV vaccination than those who completed primary education only.

Conclusion: The majority of the respondents in this study had moderate and good knowledge of cervical cancer. More than a third of participants had a good perception towards cervical cancer prevention which gives room for HPV vaccination and other preventive campaigns to be improved. The higher the level of education, the more one become knowledgeable about cervical cancer.