A population survey on beliefs around cervical cancer screening: determining the barriers and facilitators associated with attendance. 2022

Gaby Judah, and Faisal Dilib, and Ara Darzi, and Sarah Huf
Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, Praed Street, London, W2 1NY, UK. g.judah@imperial.ac.uk.

BACKGROUND Cervical screening saves approximately 5000 lives annually in England. However, screening rates have been falling continuously, and coverage in London is particularly low (64.7%). While demographic predictors of uptake have been well researched, there has been less thorough investigation of the individual barriers and facilitators which predict cervical screening attendance. Understanding modifiable factors influencing attendance can guide the design of effective interventions to increase cervical screening uptake. The aim of this study was to understand the demographic, and individual factors associated with self-reported attendance at cervical screening in London. METHODS The study used an online survey of 500 women in London (June-July 2017). The survey included self-reported measures of past attendance, demographic variables (including age, household income, ethnicity), past experience variables, and individual variables (list of potential barriers and facilitators developed based on the Theoretical Domains Framework and existing literature, which included: environmental context and resources, perceived risk, anticipated pain/embarrassment). Participants were categorised into regular attenders and non-regular attenders. Backwards stepwise logistic regression investigated the barriers and facilitators predicting past attendance. Demographic variables with significant differences between regular and non-regular attenders were added to the final regression model. RESULTS Of women who had previously been invited (n = 461, age range: 25-65), 34.5% (n = 159) were classified as non-regular attenders, and 65.5% (n = 302) as regular attenders. The individual barriers and facilitators predicting attendance were: cervical screening priority, memory, environmental context and resources, and intention. The only demographic variables related to regular attendance were relationship status (married/civil partnership having higher rates than single) and higher household income. Relationship status was not significant when adjusting for barriers and facilitators. Those who have ever been sexually active or who have had an STI in the past were significantly more likely to be regular attenders. CONCLUSIONS The study shows the importance of individual barriers and facilitators in predicting self-reported cervical screening attendance. Household income was the only significant demographic variable when combined with the individual variables. Interventions targeting priority, memory, and practical barriers affecting environmental context may be expected to be effective an increasing attendance.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008403 Mass Screening Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease. Screening,Mass Screenings,Screening, Mass,Screenings,Screenings, Mass
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
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
D005006 Ethnicity A group of people with a common cultural heritage that sets them apart from others in a variety of social relationships. Ethnic Groups,Nationality,Ethnic Group,Nationalities
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly

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