Department of Applied Psychology, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Youth Development, Sriperumpudur, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India.
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2020 Apr 1;21(4):1081-1087. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2020.21.4.1081.
The uptake for cancer screening has been consistently poor in India despite the efforts of nation-wide screening programs. Understanding the barriers and enablers among community women would aid in increasing the proportion of cancer screening uptake.
Nineteen key informants including community women, service providers and a cancer survivor were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were recorded and transcribed by the interviewers. Manual descriptive thematic analysis was conducted using deductive approach. Codes were given and extracted into categories which were later grouped to form themes.
The mean age of participants was 38 years. Among the participants, 38.9% and 16.7% underwent breast and cervical cancer screening respectively. The psychosocial factors were the major barriers for screening uptake such as fear of screening procedure and fear of being diagnosed with cancer. The other factors include lack of awareness, cultural beliefs, in addition to financial difficulties and health care system-related factors. Change in government policies to conduct mandatory screening programs, incentivization and creating awareness were reported as enablers for increasing the screening uptake among women.
Psychosocial factors, the major barriers for screening uptake in women have remained unchanged over the years. Increasing awareness campaigns, usage of decision-making aids and changes in government policies are crucial for improving the rate of uptake and successful implementation of national screening programs.
尽管印度开展了全国性的筛查计划，但癌症筛查的参与率一直很低。了解社区女性中的障碍和促进因素将有助于提高癌症筛查的参与率。
采用半结构式访谈指南对 19 名关键知情人（包括社区妇女、服务提供者和癌症幸存者）进行了访谈。访谈由访谈者记录和转录。采用演绎法进行手动描述性主题分析。给出并提取了代码，将其分类为类别，然后将其分组形成主题。
参与者的平均年龄为 38 岁。在参与者中，分别有 38.9%和 16.7%接受了乳腺癌和宫颈癌筛查。心理社会因素是筛查参与的主要障碍，例如对筛查程序和被诊断出癌症的恐惧。其他因素包括缺乏意识、文化信仰，以及经济困难和医疗保健系统相关因素。报告称，政府政策的改变，实施强制性筛查计划、激励措施和提高认识是增加女性筛查参与率的促进因素。
多年来，心理社会因素一直是女性筛查参与的主要障碍。增加宣传活动、使用决策辅助工具和改变政府政策对于提高参与率和成功实施国家筛查计划至关重要。
