Thesis:

Reproductive age living with HIV/aids attending Nakuru county, teaching and referral determinants of uptake of cervical cancer screening services among women of hospital, Kenya

In sub-Saharan Africa, cervical cancer disproportionately affects women and girls. Cervical cancer among women of reproductive age living with HIV/AIDS is still quite common in Kenya, despite tremendous efforts to address the problem. The purpose of the present investigation was to investigate the variables that affect reproductive-age women with HIV/AIDS who attend NCTRH in terms of their utilization of cancer of the cervix screening services. The investigation used a mixed-methods technique for gathering data and an analytical cross-sectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used for gathering data in quantitative form, while key informant interviews were used to acquire data that is qualitative. SPSS version 25 was utilized to analyse the quantitative data, and inferential statistics such as regression analysis and chi-square tests were employed to evaluate the correlations between the variables. Statistical significance was established at a 95% confidence range for a P-value of 0.05. Thematic analysis was used to examine the qualitative data. With 78.9% of HIV-positive women attending NCTRH taking part in screening, the results showed a high uptake of cancer of the cervix screening. Age, education, marital status, employment, religion, parity, and other patient-related characteristics all had statistically significant effects on the use of screening services (P<0.05). The investigation also found that health-related factors like the cost of tests, healthcare workers’ attitudes, facility location, availability of screening equipment, service provision, screening schedules, and waiting times were significantly associated with screening uptake (P<0.05). In conclusion, the use of cervical cancer screening services was high among HIV-positive women. Both patient-related and health facility-related factors were found to influence the utilization of screening services. These results highlight the critical role of awareness, healthcare-related factors, and the accessibility of screening services for women with HIV/AIDS. As a recommendation, healthcare providers and policymakers to strengthen awareness campaigns and improve access to cancer screening programs, particularly for WRA living with HIV/AIDS.