Cervical cancer in Bangladesh: community perceptions of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening

Abstract

SummaryWe investigated the awareness of, and the attitude towards screening for, cervical cancer in Bangladesh. We performed a qualitative study using Focus Group Discussions (FGD). The framework approach to qualitative analysis was used.The study was performed in the catchment areas of Addin hospital, Jessore, Southern Bangladesh (peri-urban) and LAMB hospital, Parbatipur, North West Bangladesh (rural). 220 men, women and adolescents participated in 28 FGD.Awareness of cervical cancer was widespread. Knowledge about causes was often inadequate. The perceived consequences of cervical cancer were numerous and awareness of the need for cervical cancer treatment was present. Barriers to accessing care include: low priority for seeking help for symptoms, limited availability of health services, and cost. Most women were unaware of the possibility of screening via speculum examination which was considered acceptable to women (and men), as long as the examination was done by a female health care provider in an environment with sufficient privacy.In conclusion, adequate gynaecological services are not available or accessible for most women in rural and peri-urban Bangladesh. However, awareness of cervical cancer is widespread. Screening for cervical cancer in these communities is acceptable if done by a female health care provider under conditions with sufficient privacy.

Demographic, knowledge, attitudinal, and accessibility factors associated with uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in a rural district of Tanzania: Three public policy implications

“…Perhaps it is less embarrassing to show private body parts to a female rather than a male health worker. Also, the likelihood of screening is also higher for women who did not believe that it was painful, which is consistent with other studies [17,19,23] . Perhaps they are more tolerant of the physical discomfort of the procedure.…”

“…This is confirmed by Singh et al's [14] study, which showed that a negative attitude of men towards screening or treatment of cervical cancer is considered a key factor contributing to poor uptake of services. Another study done in India revealed similar results [23]. In addition, women with college education had screened for cervical cancer more often compared to their counterparts.…”

An assessment of women’s awareness and knowledge about cervical cancer and screening and the barriers to cervical screening in Ogun State, Nigeria.

“…This finding has been underlined by various other findings across local and regional boundaries [35][36][37][38][39]. However, there are studies that suggest that awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer and screening do not necessarily translate to uptake of cervical screening services [40].…”

“…Poor quality of service, cost, culture and lack of interest were not found to be barriers were not found to be barriers to cervical screening among the study groups. While the barriers to screening are supported by evidences from many other studies [12,17,35,36,38,[40][41][42][43], Cost [35,44] and quality of services [37,45] were indicated by other studies as important barriers to cervical screening uptake by women. These may not be important barriers for the study groups because they are only relevant for those who seek cervical screening which is not the case in our study.…”

Role of Print and Audiovisual Media in Cervical Cancer Prevention in Bangladesh

“…This indicates that availability of screening services influences awareness level about screening among the people. Another study in Bangladeshi rural community showed that limited availability of the services was related to less knowledge on prevention and screening tests (Ansink et al, 2008). Government has a strong heath infrastructure and it is already adopting cervical and breast cancer screening programme in Bangladesh.…”