SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIAN CONTEXT, VULNERABILITY TO CERVICAL CANCER AND HEALTH PROMOTION
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The study examined the extent to which Nigerian women are vulnerable to cervical cancer in the context of
their cultural characteristics of sexual behaviour. The data were extracted from 2015 Regional Breast and
Cervical Cancers Survey that targeted women in age 15-49 years using structured face-to-face interviews.
The geo-political zones constituted the strata, out of which two geo-political zones (South West and North
Central) were randomly selected and only two states (one from each zone) were randomly picked. The data
were analysed using univariate and multivariate techniques. The study revealed the proportion of
respondents with identified risk factors that could increase vulnerability to cervical cancer including STIs such
as vagina discharge (15.4%) experience heavy or long menstruation (13.9%), discomfort during sexual
intercourse (13.1%), pelvic pain (9.5%) and bleeding in-between menstrual periods (5.6%). Multiple sexual
partnership practice was not perceived as a risk factor to cervical cancer. The study concludes that the
traditional passivity on women sexual relationship could aggravate the vulnerability to cervical cancer.
Counselling also would be necessary to address women perception and understanding of various
implications of their sexual behaviour in order to reduce the spread of not only cervical cancer but also other
reproductive health challenges
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), HA Statistics