Abstract
BACKGROUND: Several African countries, including Nigeria, continue to have a high prevalence of cervical cancer due to a lack of knowledge about screening and prevention measures, with diagnosis most usually confirmed when the prognosis is poorest. This study evaluated the Pap smear pattern and the level of cervical cancer awareness among females of reproductive age in Ondo Town, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study included 102 female participants aged 30 to 54. The stained smears were analyzed and reported using the Bethesda reporting system. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from participants, and the data obtained was statistically analysed using ANOVA for variable comparison across groups, with a confidence interval of 95% considered statistically significant and a p-value of less than 0.05 reported. RESULTS: Findings revealed that 90.2% of the evaluated smears were negative for squamous intraepithelial lesions and malignancy, while low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions were detected in 7.84% of cases, and reactive cellular changes accounted for 1.96% of the studied population. Additionally, there was a considerable level of awareness regarding cervical cancer (72.5%) and cervical cancer screening (54.9%); however, only 45.1% of the women had ever undergone a Papanicolaou smear, and an even smaller proportion (19.6%) reported routine screening. The low uptake of cervical cancer screening as a routine test may be attributed to the absence of effective, widespread, or systematic cervical cancer screening programs in Ondo town. CONCLUSION: There is a significant relationship between age, risk exposure, and development of cervical lesions among participants in this study. Awareness and lifestyle factors are also key determinants of cervical lesion development and the uptake of cervical cancer screening. Although participants demonstrated awareness of cervical cancer, their knowledge of its preventive measures remained limited. It is recommended that health education campaigns be expanded to enhance the uptake of screening services.