Institutional and Demographic Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Authors

Nhunanyachi Ohaka, Godwin N Okere, Nicholas C Asuzu, Golda O Ekenedo, Chidiebere P Ukandu, Doubrapade Walker, Favour A A M B B S Nwankwoala, Benedicta N Agu, Nkeiruka L Okoroafor, Veronica O Charles-Unadike, Georgy O Obiechina, Nancy C Dike, Lynda C Nwankwoala, Rosethe Rimande-Joel, Blessing A Amakuro, Anthony C Ugwuoke, Chituru Joel

Published in

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. Volume 27. Issue 10. Pages 3809-3815. Oct 01, 2026. Epub Oct 01, 2026.

Abstract

The global goal of reaching a 70% cervical cancer screening rate by 2030 can hardly be achieved in the presence of screening constraints, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study investigated institutional and demographic barriers to cervical cancer screening among women in the Rivers East District of Rivers State, Nigeria.
This community-based cross-sectional study sampled 1,200 respondents from a population of 3,871,377 women of reproductive age. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire with a reliability index of 0.83, obtained using Cronbach's alpha. Data collected from the 1,182 valid returned questionnaires were analysed using SPSS version 27, with descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multiple regression) at α = 0.05.
The findings of the study revealed that all institutional factors independently reduced screening uptake, R² = 0.271, F(4, 1179) = 109.83, p < 0.001; standardized effects were largest for health personnel unavailability (β = -0.203) and inconvenient clinic hours (β = -0.189). Demographic determinants were positively associated with uptake, R² = 0.296, F(4, 1179) = 123.34, p < 0.001, led by location (β = 0.231), religion (β = 0.218), age (β = 0.204), and marital status (β = 0.089).
It was concluded that institutional and demographic factors constituted significant barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake among women in Rivers State and that government intervention is needed to increase staffing levels in screening centres and provide targeted outreach, especially in local communities.

PMID:
42935074
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 Oct 2026.

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