Self-Medication Prevalence, Knowledge, Perceptions, and Preventive Practices for Cervical Cancer Among Women of Reproductive Age: Lessons from Uganda — A Scoping Review
Abstract:
The approximate number of women
who were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide by 2022 was 660,000 and out
of these 350,000 were registered deaths from the disease. It is noted that 94%
of the registered deaths were from low and middle income countries. The scoping
review focused on effect of health education on self-medication prevalence,
knowledge, perceptions and practices related to prevention of cervical cancer
among women of reproductive age in Uganda. Prior definition
of the question and scope was effectively done. Papers which were published in
English over the last 10 years on the mentioned topic were included in the
review. Incorporated in this scoping review were primary studies from
researchers and reviews. It
was identified from the review that research related to the title, effect of
health education intervention on self-medication prevalence, knowledge,
perceptions and preventive practices for cervical cancer was limited. Self-medication is largely practiced but under
documented, despite it being an ineffective approach to preventing or treating
cervical cancer. The risks of self-medication include delayed diagnosis and
treatment. It was further identified that self-medication allows disease to
progress to advanced stage due to inadequate treatment. This in turn interferes
with appropriately prescribed treatments thus increasing the risk of side
effects. Uganda is one of the countries where self-medication is common and
noted as a leading course to delayed diagnosis for cervical cancer. Among women
of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa, health education interventions have
been proved to be effective in improving knowledge, perceptions and preventive
practices for cervical cancer. It is therefore noted that, the intended
research focusing on the effect of health education intervention on
self-medication practices for cervical cancer should be done further. In order
to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in low resource settings like Uganda,
health education interventions could be effective.
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