Barriers to cervical cancer screening among ethnic minority women: a qualitative study
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| Title: | Barriers to cervical cancer screening among ethnic minority women: a qualitative study |
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| Authors: | Marlow, Laura A V, Waller, Jo, Wardle, Jane |
| Source: | J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care |
| Publisher Information: | BMJ, 2015. |
| Publication Year: | 2015 |
| Subject Terms: | Adult, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, barriers, Uterine Cervical Neoplasms, Ethnic Groups, Article, Interviews as Topic, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, 5. Gender equality, Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/prevention & control, inequalities, London, Ethnicity, Humans, 10. No inequality, race, Early Detection of Cancer, Vaginal Smears, 2. Zero hunger, Health Knowledge, Patient Acceptance of Health Care/ethnology, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, 3. Good health, Attitude to Health/ethnology, Practice/ethnology, Attitudes, ethnicity, Female, Cervical screening, Attitude to Health |
| Description: | Background Ethnic minority women are less likely to attend cervical screening. Aim To explore self-perceived barriers to cervical screening attendance among ethnic minority women compared to white British women. Design Qualitative interview study. Setting Community groups in ethnically diverse London boroughs. Methods Interviews were carried out with 43 women from a range of ethnic minority backgrounds (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, African, Black British, Black other, White other) and 11 White British women. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using Framework analysis. Results Fifteen women had delayed screening/had never been screened. Ethnic minority women felt that there was a lack of awareness about cervical cancer in their community, and several did not recognise the terms ‘cervical screening’ or ‘smear test’. Barriers to cervical screening raised by all women were emotional (fear, embarrassment, shame), practical (lack of time) and cognitive (low perceived risk, absence of symptoms). Emotional barriers seemed to be more prominent among Asian women. Low perceived risk of cervical cancer was influenced by beliefs about having sex outside of marriage and some women felt a diagnosis of cervical cancer might be considered shameful. Negative experiences were well remembered by all women and could be a barrier to repeat attendance. Conclusions Emotional barriers (fear, embarrassment and anticipated shame) and low perceived risk might contribute to explaining lower cervical screening coverage for some ethnic groups. Interventions to improve knowledge and understanding of cervical cancer are needed in ethnic minority communities, and investment in training for health professionals may improve experiences and encourage repeat attendance for all women. |
| Document Type: | Article Conference object Other literature type |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 2045-2098 1471-1893 |
| DOI: | 10.1136/jfprhc-2014-101082 |
| Access URL: | https://srh.bmj.com/content/41/4/248.full.pdf https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25583124 https://srh.bmj.com/content/41/4/248.full.pdf https://srh.bmj.com/content/41/4/248 https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1458583/ https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4621371 http://jfprhc.bmj.com/content/early/2015/01/12/jfprhc-2014-101082.full?rss=1 https://core.ac.uk/display/29147642 https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1458583/ |
| Rights: | CC BY |
| Accession Number: | edsair.doi.dedup.....3a097e85263c79b1dcd3d8d716a19e04 |
| Database: | OpenAIRE |
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | Background Ethnic minority women are less likely to attend cervical screening. Aim To explore self-perceived barriers to cervical screening attendance among ethnic minority women compared to white British women. Design Qualitative interview study. Setting Community groups in ethnically diverse London boroughs. Methods Interviews were carried out with 43 women from a range of ethnic minority backgrounds (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, African, Black British, Black other, White other) and 11 White British women. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using Framework analysis. Results Fifteen women had delayed screening/had never been screened. Ethnic minority women felt that there was a lack of awareness about cervical cancer in their community, and several did not recognise the terms ‘cervical screening’ or ‘smear test’. Barriers to cervical screening raised by all women were emotional (fear, embarrassment, shame), practical (lack of time) and cognitive (low perceived risk, absence of symptoms). Emotional barriers seemed to be more prominent among Asian women. Low perceived risk of cervical cancer was influenced by beliefs about having sex outside of marriage and some women felt a diagnosis of cervical cancer might be considered shameful. Negative experiences were well remembered by all women and could be a barrier to repeat attendance. Conclusions Emotional barriers (fear, embarrassment and anticipated shame) and low perceived risk might contribute to explaining lower cervical screening coverage for some ethnic groups. Interventions to improve knowledge and understanding of cervical cancer are needed in ethnic minority communities, and investment in training for health professionals may improve experiences and encourage repeat attendance for all women. |
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| ISSN: | 20452098 14711893 |
| DOI: | 10.1136/jfprhc-2014-101082 |