Cervical Cancer Screening: Assessment of Perception and Utilization of Services among Health Workers in Low Resource Setting

Background. Cervical cancer is a preventable disease and the most common cancer among women in Nigeria. Objectives. To appraise the perception and utilization of cervical cancer screening services among female nurses in Federal Teaching hospital, Abakaliki. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was done using semi-structured questionnaires on 408 consenting female nurses. Data was represented using simple percentages, charts, and Chi-square. Results. Of the 408 questionnaires shared, 388 were correctly and completely filled and analyzed. The respondents in this study showed good knowledge of cervical cancer as all (388) were aware that cervical cancer is a preventable disease of public health concern. Majority of them, 179 (46.1%) were between 21 and 30 years of age. The most common symptom of cervical cancer identified was postcoital bleeding (57%). Nursing training was the most common (73.5%) source of cervical cancer information. Utilization of cervical cancer screening was poor in this study as only 20.6% of the respondents had ever undergone screening. The most common reason for nonscreening was that they have not thought of it (28.4%). Conclusion. Despite the high level of awareness of cervical cancer screening, utilization remains low. There is, therefore, the need for cervical cancer education for the nurses to help improve utilization

Experience of medical doctors in Imo state, Nigeria on the Pattern of presentation and management of alleged rape

BACKGROUND: Rape is one of the most dehumanizing crimes against women and females of all age groups are at risk. Rape is defined as forced vaginal penetration of a woman by a male sexual assailant. It is a gender specific term unlike sexual assault.OBJECTIVE: To determine the experience of medical doctors in Imo-State Nigeria on the pattern of presentation and management of alleged rape cases.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving a cohort of medical doctors. The study was carried out between January and September, 2013 in Owerri, Imo State. A total of 150 pre-tested questionnaires were distributed. Information sought included sociodemographic data, cite of rape incidence, time interval between rape incidence and reporting to health facility, involvement of the police and appropriate rape management strategy. One hundred and five well completed questionnaires were analyzed using Microsoft excel.RESULT: Patient within the age range of 21-30years had the highest prevalence of alleged rape cases (32.2%). This was followed by respondents within the age range of 10-20years (31.4%). Children less than 10years old constituted 26.2% of the cases. The commonest venue was in the assailants' residence (41.9%). No incident of spousal rape was observed. About 62.1% of the cases were poorly managed. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) were the commonest complication recorded amongst the victims. Majority of the alleged rape cases (68.8%) were neither reported to the police nor referred to the forensic pathologists.CONCLUSION: Appropriate referrals of rape cases to the forensic pathologists and the police are key factors in the management of alleged cases of rape.KEY WORDS: Experience, Management, Presentation , Rape, Imo Stat