TITLE:
Perceived Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening Using Pap Smear Test among Women Attending Saad Abu Al Ella Hospital in Khartoum State, 2022
AUTHORS:
Sara Ahmed Hassan Said, Atif Bashir Fazari, Mona Awadalla Mohammed Ali Osman, Fareeda Khan, Kauthar Yahiya, Salma Ahmed, Hanan A. Abd Allah
KEYWORDS:
Perceived Barriers, Cervical Cancer Screening, HPV, Cervical Cancer, Pap Smear, Sudan
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.14 No.2,
February
28,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: Cervical cancer is the second common cancer among women worldwide. It is
a preventable cancer, and early detection of precancerous conditions through
the Papanicolaou cytology screening (Pap smear) is a key aspect of prevention;
it is accepted worldwide as an efficient tool for secondary prevention. While
the PS test is simple, inexpensive, and relatively reliable as a method of
diagnosing cervical cancer, most women do not take the test. Therefore, this
study is sought to describe the barriers to pap smear uptake among Sudanese
women. Materials and Method: This total coverage
observational, analytical and cross sectional, hospital-based study was
conducted in Saad Abu El Ella Hospital in April 2022. The study was conducted
using an anonymous questionnaire to assess the perceived barriers of 93
participants. All data were computerized using Microsoft Excel’17 and the data were described and analyzed using statistical package for social science
(SPSS23). Results: The findings revealed that the mean age of the
participants was 39.5 years and only 3.2% had ever undergone a pap smear test.
Identified barriers were lack of information, not knowing where to go, and fear
of pain. The majority, 72% are willing to routinely perform a pap smear test if
well informed about it. The study also demonstrates that there is a significant
correlation between perceived barriers score and willingness to perform the pap
smear test (p value = 0.008), and between the perceived barriers score and the
sociodemographic factors: Age (p value = 0.006), educational level (p value =
0.028) and occupation (p value = 0.040), but no association with the economic
status was found (p value = 0.378). Conclusion: The detection rate is
too low compared to the national target of over 70%. Therefore, more work is
needed to reduce perceived barriers to cervical cancer screening by providing
education/raising for popular awareness; addressing misconceptions and false
beliefs; informing women about the necessity and importance of Pap smear; and
health promotion using mass media such as national television, social media,
radio, billboards, and newspapers and other print media.