ABSTRACT
Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices with regards to cervical cancer screening among obstetric clinical staff.
Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out using questionnaires administered to female nurses and doctors employed to Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica as well as the Victoria Jubilee Hospital. The sample comprised of 121 clinical staff members. Extracted data was analyzed using STATA 12® statistical software.
Results: The mean age of participants was 34.62 years. 77.8% thought that cervical screening should be done yearly. Only 50.41% considered themselves at risk of developing cervical cancer. 82.64% of participants had previously been screened. The most commonly stated deterrent to screening was a lack of time to attend clinics.
Conclusion: While compliance with the practice of cervical screening is comparably favourable to other developing nations there is still need for education among healthcare workers particularly as it relates to risk factors and current international screening recommendations. Implementation of staff screening clinics may prove useful in improving compliance in this busy population.
Manuscripts that are Published Ahead of Print have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by the Editorial Board of the West Indian Medical Journal. They may appear in their original format and may not be copy edited or formatted in the style guide of this Journal. While accepted manuscripts are not yet assigned a volume, issue or page numbers, they can be cited using the DOI and date of e-publication. See our Instructions for Authors on how to properly cite manuscripts at this stage. The contents of the manuscript may change before it is published in its final form. Manuscripts in this section will be removed once they have been issued to a volume and issue, but will still retain the DOI and date of e-publication.
Our 7 faculties and 12 professional schools offer more than 200 programmes to some 18,000 graduate, undergraduate and continuing studies students.
The UWI, Mona ranks first in Jamaica among accredited tertiary-level programmes. In 2012, the University was again one of Jamaica’s Top 100 Employers.
