Global Journal of Health Science; Vol. 11, No. 7; 2019 ISSN 1916-9736 E-ISSN 1916-9744 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 47 Knowledge and Usage of Cervical Cancer Screening for Cancer Prevention by Reproductive Age Women Justina I. Ofuebe 1 , Lois N. Omaka 2 , Blessing O. Asogwa 1 , Michael A. Agu 1 & Uchenna C. Ugwu 1 1 Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Eduucation, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria 2 Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Eduucation, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria Correspondence: Blessing O. Asogwa, Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Eduucation, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. Tel: 234-803-894-3770. E-mail: asogwablessing45@gmail.com Received: April 21, 2019 Accepted: May 12, 2019 Online Published: June 4, 2019 doi:10.5539/gjhs.v11n7p47 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v11n7p47 Abstract Cervical cancer –CCa screening is an effective measure mapped out for preventing cancer occurrences in women. This study determined the status of knowledge and usage of CCa screening for cancer prevention among reproductive age Nigerian women. The study was based on descriptive research design and was conducted in Nigeria, from October 2017 to April 2018 and comprised of reproductive age women. The participants, aged 15-49 years, were vulnerable to CCa. The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire. Statistical Package for Social Science version 21 was used for data analysis. All the participants were Nigerians totalling 1300. Of all, 1249(96.1%) completed the questionnaire correctly. Majority of the participants were: Christians 825(66.0%), Single 695(55.6%), aged 26-35 years 673(53.8%), and had Secondary education 753(60.2%). A greater proportion of the participants 1073(86.7%) knew about CCa screening. Among them, only 513(41.7%) were screened. The status of knowledge and usage of CCa screening varied within variables. A statistically significant difference was observed with regards to Age by birth (P-value <0.05) while none existed on marital status, religion and educational level (P-value >0.05). There is obvious gap between what is known about CCa screening service for cancer prevention and the actual usage by the women. The majority of the women knew about the available services but only few of them had used it. This implies that there is obvious imbalance between the quality of knowledge of a given health service and the actual usage. Keywords: cervical cancer, screening service, knowledge, usage, women 1. Introduction The increasing cases of morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer - CCa particularly in developing regions such as Nigeria have constituted a huge concern to public health sector and other healthcare professionals. Cervical cancer is preventable if appropriate screening exercise is routinely applied (Mahlck, Jonsson, & Lenner, 1994; Elovainio, Nieminen, & Miller, 1997; Mutyaba, Mmiro, & Weiderpass, 2006). This screening service is one of the most effective strategies and reliable public health initiative mapped out to prevent the occurrences of CCa (Dusek et al., 2018). It is expected that the screening exercise would not only enhance early detection, but also aid in the prevention and subsequent treatment of the disease. Surprisingly, the alarming rates of CCa incidence and occurrences worldwide (Anantharaman, Sudharshini, & Chitra, 2013; Ferlay et al., 2013) and the obvious consequences on womens’ health particularly in developing countries (Adewole, Benedet & Crain, 2005; Ferlay et al., 2013; Bray et al., 2013; Mutyaba, Mmiro, & Weiderpass, 2006) has dwindled the expectations. Although, low awareness about the risk factors of cancer is already pronounced (Sa’aku, Omaka-Amari, Agu, Ugwu, & Ugwu, 2019) yet, it is still quite worrisome and has placed a huge doubt on whether people equally know about the CCa screening services and the subsequent usage. The above situation motivated the researchers to conduct this study using the reproductive age women in developing country –Nigeria. The reproductive age women are the most vulnerable group to CCA disease and thus making the usage of the CCa screening indispensible for ensuring safety, prevention and quality of health. The study was set to determine the status of knowledge and usage of CCa screening for cancer prevention among reproductive age Nigerian women and also to verify the null hypotheses of no significant difference within variables. As one of the expectations of the researchers, the outcome of this