Korir Agnes Chebet, Dennis G Magu, Nwankwo Mercy, Monica Monchama and Michael Habtu
Background: Breast cancer, the most frequent cancer among women, is also the leading cause of cancerrelated deaths among women. In resource poor settings, it is often diagnosed late due to low rates of screening. To more successfully support breast cancer prevention, it is vital to know the reason women do not utilize breast cancer screening. Hence, this study assessed utilization of breast cancer screening services and associated factors among women attending Centre Hospital University Kigali (CHUK), Rwanda.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 women who were selected consecutively as they came to the hospital. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized during data analysis.
Results: The utilization of breast cancer screening was low at 35.2%. After running multivariable analysis the following factors were independently associated with utilization: respondents aged 30-39 years [AOR=3.62; 95%CI=1.80-7.29; p<0.001] and 40 years and above [AOR=4.37; 95%CI=1.68-11.33; p=0.003], single/widowed respondents [AOR=4.41; 95%CI=1.54-12.64; p=0.006], moderate level of breast cancer screening awareness [AOR=3.95; 95%CI=2.16 - 7.20; p>0.001], high level of screening awareness [AOR=17.23; 95%CI=7.62 - 38.99; p<0.001] and respondents who agreed that there was regular follow up by nurses at the health facilities [AOR=3.05; 95%CI=1.31 - 7.10; p=0.010].
Conclusion: Majority of women had not had screening for breast cancer of which a significant number were not even aware of breast cancer screening. The study found different factors associated with utilization of breast cancer screening including awareness. There is need to intensify efforts towards promoting awareness and screening of breast cancer.
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