Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study
Cervical cancer remains a public health problem worldwide. Screening for cervical cancer is poorly implemented in resource-limited settings. In Ethiopia, evidence from the community and health professionals regarding implementation of the screening programme is lacking. The objective of this study w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2258477 |
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| author | Samuel Yohannes Ayanto Tefera Belachew Lema Muluemebet Abera Wordofa |
| author_facet | Samuel Yohannes Ayanto Tefera Belachew Lema Muluemebet Abera Wordofa |
| author_sort | Samuel Yohannes Ayanto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cervical cancer remains a public health problem worldwide. Screening for cervical cancer is poorly implemented in resource-limited settings. In Ethiopia, evidence from the community and health professionals regarding implementation of the screening programme is lacking. The objective of this study was to explore women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs, and barriers in relation to cervical screening in Southern Ethiopia. Five focus group discussions among women and six key informant interviews with health professionals were conducted from June to July 2022 to gather the required data from a total of 42 participants. The participants were purposively selected from a diverse group to ensure varied viewpoints. Data were collected through group discussions and face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. The interview sessions were tape-recorded. The data were analysed using a thematic approach. Women demonstrated a low level of awareness and perceived risk. Also, the perceived benefit of screening for cervical cancer during healthy periods was low. Individual and system-level barriers to screening include low awareness, stigma, poor perceptions towards health screening and causes of cervical cancer, low risk perception and competing domestic priorities, shortage of trained human and other resources, human resource turnover, low implementation and lack of close follow-up of screening programmes. In summary, lack of awareness, misconceptions, and poor perceptions were common. Screening implementation and uptake were low due to individual, psychosocial, and system-related barriers. Therefore, behavioural change communication and system-strengthening efforts need to be in place to effectively tackle the observed gaps. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eef42e2d11b44ebc93c60f5e355b625e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2641-0397 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
| spelling | doaj-art-eef42e2d11b44ebc93c60f5e355b625e2025-08-20T03:27:17ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSexual and Reproductive Health Matters2641-03972023-12-0131110.1080/26410397.2023.2258477Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative studySamuel Yohannes Ayanto0Tefera Belachew Lema1Muluemebet Abera Wordofa2Assistant Professor, Department of Population and Family Health, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia.Professor, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Jimma University, Jimma, EthiopiaAssociate Professor, Department of Population and Family Health, Jimma University, Jimma, EthiopiaCervical cancer remains a public health problem worldwide. Screening for cervical cancer is poorly implemented in resource-limited settings. In Ethiopia, evidence from the community and health professionals regarding implementation of the screening programme is lacking. The objective of this study was to explore women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs, and barriers in relation to cervical screening in Southern Ethiopia. Five focus group discussions among women and six key informant interviews with health professionals were conducted from June to July 2022 to gather the required data from a total of 42 participants. The participants were purposively selected from a diverse group to ensure varied viewpoints. Data were collected through group discussions and face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. The interview sessions were tape-recorded. The data were analysed using a thematic approach. Women demonstrated a low level of awareness and perceived risk. Also, the perceived benefit of screening for cervical cancer during healthy periods was low. Individual and system-level barriers to screening include low awareness, stigma, poor perceptions towards health screening and causes of cervical cancer, low risk perception and competing domestic priorities, shortage of trained human and other resources, human resource turnover, low implementation and lack of close follow-up of screening programmes. In summary, lack of awareness, misconceptions, and poor perceptions were common. Screening implementation and uptake were low due to individual, psychosocial, and system-related barriers. Therefore, behavioural change communication and system-strengthening efforts need to be in place to effectively tackle the observed gaps.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2258477barriersbeliefscervical cancer screeningperceptionssouthern Ethiopia |
| spellingShingle | Samuel Yohannes Ayanto Tefera Belachew Lema Muluemebet Abera Wordofa Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters barriers beliefs cervical cancer screening perceptions southern Ethiopia |
| title | Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study |
| title_full | Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study |
| title_short | Women’s and health professionals’ perceptions, beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study |
| title_sort | women s and health professionals perceptions beliefs and barriers to cervical cancer screening uptake in southern ethiopia a qualitative study |
| topic | barriers beliefs cervical cancer screening perceptions southern Ethiopia |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2258477 |
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