Objectives: The objectives of the study were to describe women’s perceived severity to cervical cancer and
its associations with socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by a
questionnaire survey with a total of 300 participants selected by convenience sampling techniques. Results: The
participants’ mean age was 37years (SD=11) and the cervical cancer screening rate was 39%. Most of the women
were sure about the severity of cancer as they responded mostly agreeing or strongly agreeing with statements
about severity of cervical cancer. The range of average responses was 2.58 to 3.56. When the ever screened and
the never screened for cervical cancer was compared, it was observed that both groups equally believed that
there is effective treatment for cervical cancer, and that cervical cancer makes a woman’s life difficult. Overall,
60% of the never screened had low perceived severity while 33% of the screened had high perceived severity to
cervical cancer. There was no significant association between perceived severity and screening for cervical cancer
(c2 = 1.0795; p = 0.2988). Monthly income (c2=13.077; p<0001) and residential area (c2=15.457; p=0.004) were
significantly associated with perceived severity. Conclusion: The screening rate is still far too low compared to
the national target of greater than 75%. Therefore, despite awareness of the perceived severity of cervical cancer,
the reasons why at risk women fail to participate in cervical cancer screening need to be adequately explored.