Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA, USA.
Department of Health Science, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA.
JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2024 Sep 2;8(5). doi: 10.1093/jncics/pkae075.
Cervical cancer-related stigma is common but understudied in the Caribbean. This study aims to describe the age difference of cervical cancer stigma and to evaluate the influence on the prevention practices among the Caribbean nonpatient population in Jamaica, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago.
A cross-sectional study involving 1209 participants was conducted using a culturally trans-created Cancer Stigma Scale for the Caribbean context and supplemented with questions on cervical cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccine knowledge and beliefs. Descriptive analyses and χ2 tests were conducted.
The χ2 tests showed age is statistically significantly related to participants' response to stigma items such as "community members believe cervical cancer is viewed as shameful" (P = .0001); "women with cervical cancer are treated with less respect than usual by others" (P < .0001); "women with cervical cancer are rejected by family members" (P = .0007); "women with cervical cancer are rejected by intimate partners" (P < .0001); and "intimate partners blame women for having cervical cancer" (P = .0032). Additionally, age has statistically significant associations with endorsements of negative views of cervical cancer from the community (P < .0001) and family (P < .0001) as key barriers to cervical cancer care (item: "discourage women from seeking and obtaining screening and treatment"). Notably, younger respondents (18-25 years) are more sensitized to the unfair stigma and hold more stigma.
Among Caribbeans, age influences cervical cancer stigma. Younger persons acknowledged greater stigma within families and communities. This study can guide age-informed interventions and programs to reduce stigma and improve cervical cancer screening and care seeking to reduce cervical cancer burden and disparities.
宫颈癌相关污名在加勒比地区很常见，但研究不足。本研究旨在描述宫颈癌污名的年龄差异，并评估其对牙买加、格林纳达和特立尼达和多巴哥加勒比地区非患者人群的预防实践的影响。
采用经过文化转化的加勒比癌症污名量表进行横断面研究，共纳入 1209 名参与者，并补充了有关宫颈癌和人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）以及 HPV 疫苗知识和信念的问题。进行描述性分析和 χ2 检验。
χ2 检验显示，年龄与参与者对污名项目的反应具有统计学显著相关性，例如“社区成员认为宫颈癌被视为羞耻”（P=0.0001）；“患有宫颈癌的女性受到他人的尊重程度低于通常水平”（P<0.0001）；“宫颈癌女性被家庭成员拒绝”（P=0.0007）；“宫颈癌女性被亲密伴侣拒绝”（P<0.0001）；“亲密伴侣指责女性患有宫颈癌”（P=0.0032）。此外，年龄与社区（P<0.0001）和家庭（P<0.0001）对宫颈癌的负面看法呈统计学显著关联，这些看法是宫颈癌护理的关键障碍（项目：“劝阻女性寻求和获得筛查和治疗”）。值得注意的是，年轻受访者（18-25 岁）对不公平污名更为敏感，并且持有更多的污名。
在加勒比地区，年龄会影响宫颈癌污名。年轻人在家庭和社区中承认更大的污名。本研究可以指导基于年龄的干预措施和计划，以减少污名，改善宫颈癌筛查和寻求护理，从而降低宫颈癌负担和差异。
