Prevalence and Factors Associated with Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Aged 30-49 years in Nigeria: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey

Introduction: Cervical cancer poses a major global health challenge, particularly impacting women. Fortunately, it is largely preventable through regular screening However, many women in African countries, including Senegal, face significant barriers to accessing cervical cancer screening services. Understanding the current prevalence and associated factors in among women aged 30–49 years in Nigeria will provide valuable insights for enhancing interventions on improving screening uptake. Methods The study analyzed secondary data from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. The study included a weighted sample of 17,649 women. The study used the “svy” command in Stata to assign the sample weight. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess significant factors associated cervical cancer screening and statistical significance was set at a 5% significance level. Results The study found that overall cervical cancer screening among women aged 30–49 years in Nigeria was 5% (95% CI = 4.6, 5.5). Cervical cancer screening varied across zone, with the highest in South West (10.8%), and lowest in both North East and (3.3%). The binary logistic regression results revealed that women aged 40–49 (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.26, 1.86), women with higher education (AOR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.55, 3.27), women from rich quantile (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.02, 2.14), women covered by health insurance (AOR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.62, 2.67), women visited health facility last 12 months (AOR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.30, 1.89), women who listening radio (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.33, 2.10), women ever terminated pregnancy (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.27, 2.00), women who ever examined for breast cancer (AOR = 4.07, 95% CI = 2.76, 5.97), women who were and women living with HIV (AOR = 4.08, 95% CI = 2.15, 7.76), were statistically significant associated with cervical cancer screening among women aged 30–49 years. Women with 3–4 children (AOR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.58, 0.93), those with 5 children and above (AOR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.40, 0.74) had lower odds of cervical screening Conclusion This study found a very low national cervical cancer screening among Nigerian women aged 30–49 years. These results underscore the need to address structural, financial, and informational barriers through stronger health system support, improved access to services, targeted community outreach, and integration of cervical cancer screening into existing health platforms.