Cervical Cancer: Community Perception and Preventive Practices in an Urban Neighborhood of Lagos (Nigeria)
Table 4
Cervical cancer preventive practices.
Variable
Frequency (%)
Heard of ways to prevent cervical cancer
()
Yes
26 (8.2)
No
172 (54.3)
Do not know
119 (37.6)
Preventive measures known (multiple responses)
()
Pap smear
17 (65.4)
Vaccination
7 (26.9)
HPV testing
2 (7.7)
Heard of HPV vaccine
()
Yes
19 (6.0)
No
196 (61.8)
Do not know
102 (32.1)
Recipients for the vaccine
()
10–25 yrs
8 (2.5)
>25 yrs
7 (2.2)
Do not know
302 (95.3)
Consider vaccination of daughter with HPV vaccine
()
Yes
199 (62.8)
No
17 (5.4)
Do not know
101 (31.8)
Amongst those aware of cervical cancer, receiving HPV
()
Yes
8 (6.8)
No
110 (93.2)
If female, received HPV vaccination
()
Yes
8 (4.1)
No
129 (65.5)
Do not know
60 (30.4)
Amongst those aware of cervical cancer, doing Pap smear
()
Yes
10 (8.5)
No
108 (91.5)
Had a Pap smear done before
()
Yes
10 (5.1)
No
127 (64.5)
Do not know
60 (30.4)
Reasons for not having a Pap smear done (multiple responses)
()
Not at risk
13 (10.2)
Partner will not allow
2 (1.6)
Never heard of it
94 (74.0)
No time
4 (3.1)
Afraid
1 (0.8)
Not sexually active
1 (0.8)
About 8.2% of all respondents had heard of preventive methods for cervical cancer, and among these, about a quarter (26.9%) were aware of vaccinations. Six percent of all respondents had heard of the HPV vaccine, while 2.5% identified the 10–25 year age group as the appropriate recipients for the vaccine. Over half of all respondents (62.8%) would consider vaccination of their daughters with the HPV vaccine. Among the female respondents, 4.1% had received the HPV vaccine, while 5.1% had had a Pap smear before. In about three-quarters (74.0%) of those who had never had Pap smears done this is because they had never heard of it before.
