Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening among Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Women in the United States: A Qualitative Report

Objective: Cervical cancer screening can prevent women across all age groups from developing cervical cancer (CC). However, Sub-Saharan African immigrant women (SAIW) sparsely engage in routine CC screening. Thus, developing prevention strategies to improve SAIW’s adherence to recommended CC screeni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHealth behavior and policy review Vol. 10; no. 5; pp. 1368 - 1375
Main Authors Amuta-Jimenez, Ann O, Sokale, Itunu O, Reitzel, Lorraine
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Alhambra Paris Scholar Publishing Ltd 01.10.2023
Health Behavior and Policy Review
Subjects
Age groups
Barriers
Behavior
Black people
Cervical cancer
Consent
Data analysis
Fatalism
Health care industry
Health insurance
Human papillomavirus
Immigrants
Immunization
Interviews
Medical screening
Sub-Saharan African women; immigrant women; screening adherence; cancer screening barriers
Women
Womens health
United States > US
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Summary:Objective: Cervical cancer screening can prevent women across all age groups from developing cervical cancer (CC). However, Sub-Saharan African immigrant women (SAIW) sparsely engage in routine CC screening. Thus, developing prevention strategies to improve SAIW’s adherence to recommended CC screening guidelines is critical. To ensure that such strategies are successful, they must meet the needs of the target population. By conducting qualitative interviews with SAIW (N = 15), we aimed to get a deeper understanding of barriers to CC screening receipt. Methods: We asked SAIW about barriers to CC screening and possible ideas to facilitate their future screeningbehavior. Results: Our findings revealed that SAIW are especially affected by several major barriers: lack of awareness of CC guidelines, fear/fatalism, lack of resources (eg, a lack of time due to job and family commitment), other resource-related barriers (eg, unreliable mode of transport, and nohealth insurance), modesty, and overt bias. Participants indicated a preference for female healthcare providers for CC screening and suggested spousal involvement in CC intervention developmentto foster support. Conclusion: The identification of multi-level barriers indicates that multiple strategies are needed to improve the uptake of CC screening among SAIW.
ISSN:2326-4403
2326-4403
DOI:10.14485/HBPR.10.5.1