Naomi Nyaboga

Citation:

Nyaboga NM. Assessment of the Corporate Cervical Cancer Awareness and Screening Campaign by the Women for Cancer Organization. Nairobi: Daystar University; 2019.

Thesis Type:

According to Kenya’s Ministry of Health 2019 statistics, cervical cancer is ranked the first most common cancer among women of reproductive age and the second killer cancer after breast cancer among Kenyan women, which makes it a major public health concern. Regular screening and early treatment contribute to the reduction of mortality and morbidity linked to cervical cancer. The objectives of this study were to establish the professional women’s awareness on cervical cancer, determine the perception on cervical cancer, establish the uptake of cervical cancer screening among professional women exposed to the Corporate Cervical Cancer Awareness and Screening Campaign by the Women for Cancer organization and identify the campaign approach used by the Women for Cancer organization. A cross-sectional study design was adopted and the exploratory approach was used. Stratified random sampling method was used to obtain the required sample size of 58 respondents. The study was conducted between June, 2017 and March 2019. Data analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 and thematic analysis was used for qualitative approach. The study findings revealed that 84% of the women were aware about cervical cancer, while 64.3% knew Pap smear as a preventive measure against cervical cancer. 83.9%. knew that HPV infection was a risk factor associated with cervical cancer while only 52% had ever had a Pap smear test done. As much as the study shows increased knowledge about cervical cancer, the uptake is still not to the desired degree that every woman goes for regular screening. There is need to demystify the myths and misconceptions associated with the cancer to enable more women to take up cervical cancer screening behavior. There is also need to design educative communication campaign for women in Kenya and improve on the campaigns approach based on the findings and recommendations of this study.