A pilot study of a video-based educational intervention and knowledge of cervical cancer among senior high school students in Ghana: A before-after study

[Display omitted] •Cervical cancer awareness can be improved by using health educational videos.•Health professionals can adopt health videos during adolescent cancer education.•Health videos may help to reduce barriers to cervical cancer screening. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Ghana. Cervical cancer screening in Ghana begins at 25 years, however, screening uptake is very low. High rates of information and communication technology use in Ghana present an opportunity for raising adolescents’ cervical cancer awareness and screening uptake. The study aimed to assess the effect of a video-based educational intervention (VBEI) in improving knowledge, awareness and reducing barriers to cervical cancer screening among senior high school (SHS) students in Ghana. A single-arm before and after study was conducted in which fifty (50) respondents were selected using stratified probability sampling. Participants viewed a 20-minute YouTube video on cervical cancer and self-completed a study-specific questionnaire before and after the VBEI. McNemar’s test was used to test the differences in knowledge, awareness and perceived barriers between pre and post-intervention at a significance level of p