Integrated Review of Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2016

Ditsapelo M McFarland, and Sarah M Gueldner, and Keitshokile D Mogobe
Alpha Omega, Associate Professor, College of Nursing and Public Health, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA. dmcfarland@adelphi.edu.

The aim of this study was to review published studies to identify and describe barriers to Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screening among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Guided by Cooper's integrative review methodology, studies published between 2006 and 2015 were identified by searching electronic databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, MEDLINE, ProQuest, and PsycINFO using specified search terms. Using this strategy, 224 articles were identified and screened for duplication and by reading titles, abstracts, and full texts. Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria and were appraised using relevant tools for qualitative and quantitative designs. No relevant articles published in 2006, 2007, and 2014 were found. All 17 articles had good methodological quality and were included in the review. The studies were from 10 sub-Saharan countries and from different settings. Content analysis of the data revealed three major themes coded as client, provider, and system barriers. The most common client barriers were lack of knowledge and awareness about Pap smear screening, fear of cancer, belief of not being at risk for cervical cancer, and that a Pap smear is not important unless one is ill and cultural or religious factors. Provider barriers were failure to inform or encourage women to screen. Major system barriers were unavailability and inaccessibility of the Pap test. The review provided evidence of barriers to Pap smear screening among sub-Saharan women. Although there were some variations from country to country, sub-Saharan countries share similar constraints to Pap smear screening. These findings have important implications for practice and policy. Understanding the client, provider, and system barriers to cervical cancer screening could guide development of effective interventions.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D002583 Uterine Cervical Neoplasms Tumors or cancer of the UTERINE CERVIX. Cancer of Cervix,Cancer of the Cervix,Cancer of the Uterine Cervix,Cervical Cancer,Cervical Neoplasms,Cervix Cancer,Cervix Neoplasms,Neoplasms, Cervical,Neoplasms, Cervix,Uterine Cervical Cancer,Cancer, Cervical,Cancer, Cervix,Cancer, Uterine Cervical,Cervical Cancer, Uterine,Cervical Cancers,Cervical Neoplasm,Cervical Neoplasm, Uterine,Cervix Neoplasm,Neoplasm, Cervix,Neoplasm, Uterine Cervical,Uterine Cervical Cancers,Uterine Cervical Neoplasm
D005260 Female Females
D006297 Health Services Accessibility The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others. Access To Care, Health,Access to Care,Access to Contraception,Access to Health Care,Access to Health Services,Access to Medications,Access to Medicines,Access to Therapy,Access to Treatment,Accessibility of Health Services,Availability of Health Services,Contraception Access,Contraceptive Access,Medication Access,Accessibility, Health Services,Contraceptive Availability,Health Services Geographic Accessibility,Program Accessibility,Access to Cares,Access to Contraceptions,Access to Medication,Access to Medicine,Access to Therapies,Access to Treatments,Access, Contraception,Access, Contraceptive,Access, Medication,Accessibilities, Health Services,Accessibility, Program,Availability, Contraceptive,Care, Access to,Cares, Access to,Contraception, Access to,Contraceptive Accesses,Health Services Availability,Medication Accesses,Medication, Access to,Medicine, Access to,Medicines, Access to,Therapy, Access to,Treatment, Access to
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D055088 Early Detection of Cancer Methods to identify and characterize cancer in the early stages of disease and predict tumor behavior. Cancer Screening,Cancer Screening Tests,Early Diagnosis of Cancer,Cancer Early Detection,Cancer Early Diagnosis,Cancer Screening Test,Screening Test, Cancer,Screening Tests, Cancer,Screening, Cancer,Test, Cancer Screening,Tests, Cancer Screening
D017954 Africa South of the Sahara All of Africa except Northern Africa (AFRICA, NORTHERN) including ANGOLA; BENIN; BOTSWANA; BURKINA FASO; CABO VERDE; CAMEROON; CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC; CHAD; CONGO; COTE D'IVOIRE; DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO; DJIBOUTI; EQUATORIAL GUINEA; ERITREA; ESWATINI; ETHIOPIA; GABON; GAMBIA; GHANA; GUINEA; GUINEA-BISSAU; KENYA; LESOTHO; LIBERIA; MALAWI; MALI; MAURITANIA; MOZAMBIQUE; NAMIBIA; NIGER; NIGERIA; RWANDA; SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE; SENEGAL; SIERRA LEONE; SOMALIA; SOUTH AFRICA; SOUTH SUDAN; SUDAN; TANZANIA; TOGO; UGANDA; ZAMBIA; and ZIMBABWE. Africa, Sub-Saharan,Sub-Saharan Africa,Subsaharan Africa
D065006 Papanicolaou Test Cytological preparation of cells collected from a mucosal surface and stained with Papanicolaou stain. Papanicolaou Smear,Pap Smear,Pap Test,Smear, Pap,Smear, Papanicolaou,Test, Pap,Test, Papanicolaou

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