Utilization of pap smear in the prevention of cervical cancer among female health workers at a Nigerian Tertiary Health Facility

Context: Cervical carcinoma is a preventable disease, yet it remains the leading genital tract malignancy among women in sub-Saharan Africa.Objective: To assess awareness, knowledge and utilization of Pap smear as a screening modality for cancer of the cervix among female health workers at Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti.Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study, conducted using quantitative methods. A pretested, selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect data; all consenting female health workers in the institution were recruited. Ethical approval was obtained from IRB; data analysis was done using SPSS 18,Results: A total of 378 questionnaires were sufficiently filled for analysis, 305 (80.7%) respondents were aware of cancer of the cervix, majority knew it could be prevented and 95.8% demonstrated knowledge on methods of screening for its precursor lesions though only 30.7% were aware of availability of service in their center. Knowledge about Pap smear and type of family was significantly associated, so also were the level of education, professional designation and duration of work experience; utilization of Pap smear screening services was significantly associated with age, marital status and type of marriage; others were educational status, cadre of work and professional experience. It is of note that only 75 (19.8%) of those that were aware of pap smear as a strategy had ever done it; and a number of respondents were not willing to do test even at no cost.Conclusion: The respondents demonstrated good knowledge about available cervical cancer screening services but had poor attitude to utilization of Pap smear screening services. Only a few were willing to perform the test even at no cost to them, reasons for this need to be further evaluated and addressed.Keywords: willingness, utilization, cervical cancer, Pap smear, female health worker