Cervical Cancer Screening Prevalence and Predictors Among Women Aged 25-49 Years in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cervical cancer can be prevented by early detection through regular screening. The American Cancer Society advocates the initiation of cervical cancer screening from 25 years of age. Few studies in Ghana have used nationally representative data to examine the prevalence and predictors of cervical cancer screening (CCS). Therefore, this study examined the prevalence and predictors of CCS among women aged 25-49 years in Ghana.

This study used cross-sectional secondary data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), which involved 9510 women. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the predictors of CCS. All variables were considered statistically significant at a 95% confidence interval (p-value < 0.05).

Overall, the prevalence of CCS was 6.90% (95% CI = 6.39%-7.41%). Women's age, educational level, marital status, parity, ecological zone, age at menarche, HIV testing, frequency of listening to the radio, and interaction between age and parity were predictors of CCS. On the one hand, women who had 6 or more children (95% CI = 0.04-0.54), those aged 45-49 years with 4-5 children (95% CI = 0.04-0.98), and those with menarche at ≥ 15 years (95% CI = 0.59-0.97), were less likely to screen for cervical cancer. On the other hand, women with tertiary education (95% CI = 1.07-10.84), those from the Northern ecological zone (95% CI = 1.34-3.23), and those who had ever tested for HIV (95% CI = 1.49-3.36), were more likely to screen for cervical cancer.

The prevalence of CCS is low in Ghana, and there is an urgent need for policymakers to enhance health promotion campaigns on cervical cancer screening to increase the uptake of screening services.