Cervical Cancer: Perception of Male Police Officers in Lagos Nigeria

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is ranked the leading cause of cancer deaths in developing countries and about 83% of all new cases and deaths from
the disease occur in developing countries. The role of men in the prevention and control of cervical cancer has not received adequate attention. The
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends male involvement in the prevention of cervical cancer in middle and low income countries to assist in
reducing its rate of occurrence. This study describes the perception of cervical cancer by male police ofï€cers undergoing courses for rank promotion in
Lagos, Nigeria.
METHODOLOGY
A descriptive study was conducted in 2014 on 282 male police ofï€cers using a pretested semi-structured and self-administered questionnaire. The data
obtained was collated and analysed using Statistical package for social sciences 'Version 16'. The chi square was used to test for association between
variables.
RESULTS
The majority (69.5%) of the respondents were in the 31 – 40 year age range and over 80% had secondary education. About half (56%) of the
respondents were aware of cervical cancer. Some identiï€ed risk factors included smoking (51.9%) and early sexual debut (32.9%). About 82.3% were
uninformed about the role of HPV in the causation of cervical cancer. Respondents were willing to recommend preventative measures such as uptake of
HPV vaccination and the Pap test to their female relations in the prevention and control of cervical cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
Awareness of cervical cancer, risk factors and preventive methods among respondents left much to be desired. Expanding the knowledge of men on
cervical cancer may promote uptake of preventive strategies by female relations invariably reducing morbidity and mortality from this condition.