Awareness, screening and role of men in prevention of cervical cancer among tea farm workers of Nandi hills division in Nandi county, Kenya

Abstract

Despite being preventable with early screening and treatment, Cervical Cancer (CC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women globally. Incidence rate of cervical cancer in the USA is 8.9 per 100 000, while in India, the incidence rate vary from 19 to 44/100 000. In the UAE there is incidence rate of 7 per 100,000 women, while current estimates indicate that 493 000 women in South Africa are diagnosed with (CC) per year and 274 000 die from the disease. In Kenya, estimates indicate that every year 2454 women are diagnosed with (CC) and 1676 die from the disease. Studies have revealed that awareness of CC, awareness of screening methods, and support from male partners highly enhance prevention of CC, although the same has not been established in areas where incidence rates are high. The purpose of this study was to establish the awareness of, screening and role of men in prevention of cervical cancer among tea farm workers of Nandi hills Division. Study objectives were to establish the level of awareness of cervical cancer; to determine the level of awareness of cervical cancer screening; to determine the role of men in the prevention of cervical cancer; and to determine the relationships between awareness of cervical cancer screening, role of men and prevention of cervical cancer among tea farm workers of Nandi Hills Division in Nandi County, Kenya. The study adopted Crosssectional survey design. Target population comprised all women aged 15 years and above who had not been screened for CC and were not participating in CC prevention. A total of 425 respondents were recruited and a standardized questionnaire used for data collection. Reliability of instrument was enhanced through test retest during a pilot study involving 42 women from Nandi tea estate, where Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.70 was attained. Descriptive and Logical Regressions methods were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that 76.4% of the respondents have heard about CC, with the main source of information being radio (39%). Findings also reveal that 61% have not heard CC screening. Pap smear screening method is most commonly used (66%) and the main reasons for not attending CC screening is the distance to clinic location (26.6%). Majority (83.8%) of the women considered CC screening to be important, with 75.1% of them willing to participate in the exercise. The study reported that most men (74.5%) have not discussed CC with their partners, while 89.5% of them do not know if their wives have been screened for CC. Equally, findings from the males indicate that 6.7% of the females have been screened. Further, 81.2% of the males are willing to pay for the transport of their spouses to CC screening clinics. However, 81.2% of the males have never accompanied their partners to CC screening clinics. Logistic regression analysis showed that men who were involved in CC services were 2 times more likely to report higher CC prevention level than those who did not (OR 2.229, 95% CI: 0.048-4.941; p<0.048). Further,the results showed a statistically significant association between awareness on CC screening and prevention (OR 0.567, 95% CI: 0.000-0.770; p<0.001) and also awareness on CC had a significant association with prevention (OR 0.286, 95% CI: 0.000-0.421; p<0.001) all other factors being constant. This would be significant in policy making, designing and formulating health systems thus increasing availability of HPV vaccination, population-based cervical screening and diagnostic services. The study recommends that awareness campaign for CC and screening methods should be enhanced among both women and men so that uptake of the same is achieved and sustained in the area.