Social Representations of Gynecologic Cancer Screening Assessment a Qualitative research on Ecuadorian women

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to explore: knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding gynecologic cancer screening on Ecuadorian women users of primary care facilities, to identify the social representations that users of health services make about these programs and their influence on the decision to undergo a screening. An exploratory and qualitative research design was held using focus groups and in-depth interviews for data collection. A narrative content analysis of the results was conducted. Women's knowledge on gynecological cancer screening was confusing. Most frequent misconceptions related to the pap smear were: the belief that it could be useful for detecting pregnancy, ovarian cysts or infections. Most of the participants stated that the pap smear procedure is a traumatic and painful experience. Regarding to mammography women said it was used for sick woman and this procedure by itself may cause cancer.

Barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening among under-screened women in Cuenca, Ecuador: the perspectives of women and health professionals

“…In Ecuador, only two studies have addressed the low coverage of cervical cancer screening: one focuses on the challenges and opportunities of accessing cervical cancer screening among indigenous populations, whereas the other (from 2009) reports on attitudes towards screening among women in urban and rural areas. Barriers identified included organizational obstacles, reduced access to screening in rural, indigenous communities, and individual and cultural barriers, including fear of gynaecological examination, a lack of risk perception and a lack of knowledge about cervical cancer in general [ 17 , 20 ]. The aim of this research is to complement and update previous studies, by assessing the perspectives of under-screened women and health care providers regarding barriers and facilitators of cervical cancer screening in Cuenca, Ecuador.…”

Knowledge and perceptions regarding triage among human papillomavirus–tested women: A qualitative study of perspectives of low-income women in Argentina

“…45,52–54 In Ecuador, researchers found that the Pap smear procedure provoked a sensation of great vulnerability and brought back memories of experiences of mistreatment and discrimination. 55 Similar barriers to Pap were found in Peru 56 and Chile. 57 In addition, women in our study perceived Pap as producing economic and time loss due to the time taken off from work or family responsibilities, as other studies have also shown.…”

Universal cervical cancer control through a right to health lens: refocusing national policy and programmes on underserved women

“…Although these factors can have a chilling effect on women’s screening attendance, it is most telling that information promoting screening has failed to reach indigenous women. Some indigenous women report first learning about the Pap test when receiving primary care for their first pregnancy or after their first child [ 27 ]. A holistic public health and human rights approach requires that information about sexually-transmitted infections and reproductive cancer be accessible and “provided in a manner consistent with the needs of the individual and the community, taking into consideration, for example, age, gender, language ability, education level, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status” (4, para 18–19).…”

“…Indigenous women face multiple forms of discrimination when accessing screening provided in health centres: language is a barrier for non-Spanish speakers to access care and these women may experience judgement by healthcare providers [25,26]. Individual barriers are also at play, such as gender norms, cultural customs, and a mistrust of Western medicine (that are possibly related to past mistreatment), which inhibit these women from undergoing a Pap test [26,27]. Although these factors can have a chilling effect on women's screening attendance, it is most telling that information promoting screening has failed to reach indigenous women.…”