Knowledge and practice of health promotive lifestyle toward cervical cancer prevention among women in Africa: A scoping review

Introduction
Cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern among women globally, with a high burden of morbidity and mortality. Despite the existence of empirical evidence about various preventive strategies, the burden of cancer continues to rise, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. This scoping review aimed to examine the existing literature on the knowledge and practice of health-promotive lifestyle factors for the prevention of cervical cancer among women in Nigeria. This review is driven by the acknowledgment that early detection and prevention are crucial in mitigating the impact of cervical cancer.

Method
A systemic search of databases; PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Medline, Semantic Scholars was also conducted to identify relevant studies published between 2019 and 2023. Relevant articles were screened for eligibility, and 46 papers were selected. The Joanna Briggs Institute and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Scoping Review Extension (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines were used to analyze the quality of the articles.

Results
The study affirmed that various studies have been done concerning knowledge and practice of cervical cancer prevention among women in Africa. The knowledge, attitude and practice of cervical cancer prevention was poor among these women, which has had a direct influence in the poor uptake of cervical cancer screening among Africa women. However, nurse led interventions has been proven to increase knowledge level and screening uptake in experimental groups post intervention.

Conclusions
While some women have good knowledge of cervical prevention, the attitude and practice of prevention is poor in many of the studies reviewed. The uptake of screening was low, and some barriers identified encompasses socio-cultural concerns, cost, insufficient health education, limited availability of healthcare services, and consent from partners, while family history of cervical cancer is one of the reasons for uptake of screening in some women.