Abstract:
AIDS and cervical cancer are both diseases that affect the tissues of the cervix.. Women
with HIV/AIDS are at a higher risk of persistent Human Papilloma Virus infection,
which ends up in a multiplied threat of growing premalignant lesion of the cervix. If
cervical cancer is identified through screening early, it is treatable. Therefore, factors
affecting the use of cervical cancer screening in HIV/AIDS sufferers in Nandi County
being evaluated in this study. The study used a mixed-methods descriptive study
design, with findings computed for quantitative variables. The target population were
670 HIV/AIDS patients. This was the estimated number of female HIV/AIDS positive
patients that visited the Nandi County Referral Hospital's comprehensive treatment
center from July to October 2020. A sample size of 190 based on Fisher et al formula,
and a purposeful and systematic random sampling technique was used to recruit the
participants. Utilizing both open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires, primary data
was gathered. The data was entered and coded using Microsoft Excel 2016, and SPSS
was utilized to examine it (version 25.0). Frequencies, percentages, and means were
created with the aid of descriptive statistics. The association between socioeconomic
and demographic characteristics and the adoption of cervical cancer screening was
examined using the Chi-Square test of independence. Tables, bar graphs, and pie charts
were utilized to display the findings. The average age of the respondents was 33.8
years. 77.3 percent of women had learned of cervical cancer, and 47.3 percent had
learned about it from the media. the proportion of responders who were aware of early
cervical screening initiatives and were associated with any screening procedures was
83.2% and 62%, respectively. 51.1% of participants said they had been screened, and
57.1% listed the Pap smear test as a screening tool. Since p0.05, the chi-square test's
findings were significant. (2 (4, N=190) = 1.930, p=.003). In addition, 69.9% of
respondents stated that they avoided screening because they were afraid they might
already have cervix cancer. Further, awareness on cervical cancer screening was high
with mass media being a leading platform; however, uptake of check-up was low. This
indicates that awareness did not translate to screening uptake. Therefore, the study
recommends increase of health sensitization on importance of screening.
