Utilization of Cervical Cancer Screening Services among Women in Vhembe District, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim:Screening for early detection and treatment of cervical cancer is a cornerstone of prevention. The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness in women about the utilization of cervical cancer screening services in Vhembe District, South Africa.Methods:This cross-sectional study involved a random selection of 500 women aged 20-59 years in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data was collectedviaa self-structured questionnaire on the demographic variables, provision, utilization and awareness of cervical cancer screening services.Results:The majority of the participants agreed to have cervical cancer screening services in their clinics (79.2%), and never had a Pap smear (58.6%). Most women would not go for cervical cancer screening, mainly because of a lack of facilities (30.0%), fear of pain (24.4%), and embarrassment (15.2%). Most participants indicated that Pap smear test meant scraping the cervix to detect abnormal cancerous cells (39.2%) and 34.2% did not know a Pap smear. Majority of the participants indicated Pap smears should be done every 10 years (65.8%); Pap smears could detect cervical cancer earlier (66.8%), and had heard about cervical cancer (71.6%). The majority of the participants considered cervical cancer as a serious problem to warrant considerable attention (59.4%); and some perceived cervical cancer as transmittable through multiple sexual partners (22.2%). The majority of the participants were aware of a vaccine against cervical cancer for girls at school (69.0%), and it was indicated that government should use health education to encourage women to attend cervical screening services (51.6%).Conclusion:Despite the free availability of cervical cancer screening services and awareness, the utilization of cervical cancer screening services is low. There is a need to intensify cervical screening health talks and campaigns, and to provide alternative accessible options for screening services for women in rural areas.

Determinants and levels of cervical Cancer screening uptake among women of reproductive age in South Africa: evidence from South Africa Demographic and health survey data, 2016

“…Studies [4][5][6] have accounted for over 275,000 female deaths and approximately 529,000 new diagnoses each year; besides, cervical cancer disease burden is more prevalent in older women who are post-childbearing [7][8][9][10][11][12]. In the developing countries, lack of resources limits coverage of cervical screening for women [13][14][15], and notably, for those from rural communities compared with urban areas, as the rural population is extensively poor and their access to health services is more difficult [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Overall, developed countries such as the United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom, 40 and 42% of the women diagnosed with cervical cancer respectively, die from it [7,10,11,22,23], while in Africa and South Asia, the equivalent death rates are nearly twice (78%) as high as the rates experienced in highincome countries [23,24].…”

Cervical cancer knowledge and screening uptake by marginalized population of women in inner-city Durban, South Africa: Insights into the need for increased health literacy

“… 23 Notably, women who did not perceive themselves at risk would not utilize the screening services. 15 Screening programme initiatives can forfeit any possible gains if the necessary health care system infrastructures are not in place, 24 as awareness and screening initiatives go hand-in-hand with the availability of healthcare. In an already overburdened health care system, this is next to impossible.…”

“…12,13 Several South African studies have identified low knowledge levels for cervical cancer and human papilloma virus (HPV), [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] where a large proportion of women revealed that they had never tested for cervical cancer. 14,15 Factors that influenced testing included place of residence, having health insurance, being older in age, non-Black ethnicity, employment and pre-existing chronic medical conditions. 21,22 Support from a partner also played an important role in women being tested.…”

“…21,22 Support from a partner also played an important role in women being tested. 15 Based on the SA World Health survey, women who had previously tested for cervical cancer were more likely to be married, obtained a tertiary degree, had higher household socioeconomic status and easy access to a testing site. 23 It is interesting to note that the greater the number of healthcare providers, the greater the likelihood of having a screening test done.…”

Ranking lifestyle risk factors for cervical cancer among Black women: A case-control study from Johannesburg, South Africa

“…This could be due to a lack of cervical cancer screening services, poverty in rural areas, lower education attainment and low uptake in cervical cancer screening. Vhuromu et al [ 48 ], reported low utilization of cervical cancer screening in rural areas. Improved health systems and new methods of cervical cancer screening services in rural areas may result in an improved uptake in cervical cancer screening.…”