Department of Geography and Environment, Faculty of Social Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
BMC Womens Health. 2024 Sep 18;24(1):519. doi: 10.1186/s12905-024-03367-7.
Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Ghana and other Sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries. Despite the importance of early diagnosis for timely treatment and death prevention, cervical cancer screening among women in developing countries remain very low. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research examining the factors associated with screening uptake among women of reproductive age in Ghana. Thus, this study fills the scholarly void and contributes to the existing literature by examining the determinants of cervical cancer screening in Ghana.
Utilizing data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) (N = 15,014 women), and by employing logistic regression models for a cross-sectional analysis, this study evaluated the factors associated with cervical cancer screening in Ghana.
Women with tertiary educational attainment (OR = 4.140; 95%CI: 2.960 5.789; p < 0.001), from the richer (OR = 1.968; p < 0.001) and richest households (OR = 2.492; p < 0.001), the married/living with partner (OR = 1.773; 95%CI:1.372 2.290; p < 0.001), the widowed/divorced/separated (OR = 1.888; 95%CI:1.320 2.701; p < 0.001), owners of valid health insurance card (OR = 1.356; 95%CI:1.086 1.693; p < 0.01), visitation to health facility in the past 12 months (OR = 1.312; 95%CI: 1.082 1.590; p < 0.001), those who watched television at least once in a week (OR = 1.395; 95%CI: 1.055 1.846; p < 0.001), as well as those who listened to radio at least once in a week (OR = 1.509; 95%CI: 1.228 1.853; p < 0.001), were all significantly more associated with cervical cancer screening in the study context. Also, ethnicity, religion, and the region of residence significantly predicted cervical cancer screening in the study context.
Cervical cancer screening in Ghana can be improved by addressing socioeconomic and geographical disparities in the country's healthcare system. To ensure early detection, timely treatment or care and prevention of cervical cancer-related deaths in the country, there must be coordinated efforts by the government of Ghana to improve healthcare access and surveillance systems for cervical cancer cases, particularly, in geographically disadvantage areas.
宫颈癌仍然是加纳和其他撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）国家女性癌症相关死亡的主要原因。尽管早期诊断对于及时治疗和预防死亡至关重要，但发展中国家的女性宫颈癌筛查率仍然很低。尽管如此，对于生育年龄妇女的筛查参与因素的研究在加纳仍然很少。因此，本研究通过考察加纳宫颈癌筛查的决定因素，填补了学术空白，为现有文献做出了贡献。
本研究利用 2022 年加纳人口与健康调查（GDHS）的数据（N=15014 名女性），并采用逻辑回归模型进行横断面分析，评估了加纳宫颈癌筛查的相关因素。
在加纳，具有高等教育学历（OR=4.140；95%CI：2.960-5.789；p<0.001）、来自较富裕（OR=1.968；p<0.001）和最富裕家庭（OR=2.492；p<0.001）、已婚/与伴侣同居（OR=1.773；95%CI：1.372-2.290；p<0.001）、丧偶/离婚/分居（OR=1.888；95%CI：1.320-2.701；p<0.001）、拥有有效健康保险卡（OR=1.356；95%CI：1.086-1.693；p<0.01）、在过去 12 个月内曾到医疗机构就诊（OR=1.312；95%CI：1.082-1.590；p<0.001）、每周至少看一次电视（OR=1.395；95%CI：1.055-1.846；p<0.001）以及每周至少听一次广播（OR=1.509；95%CI：1.228-1.853；p<0.001）的女性，与该研究背景下的宫颈癌筛查显著相关。此外，民族、宗教和居住地区在研究背景下显著预测了宫颈癌筛查。
通过解决加纳医疗保健系统中的社会经济和地理差异，可以改善加纳的宫颈癌筛查。为了确保早期发现、及时治疗或护理以及预防该国与宫颈癌相关的死亡，加纳政府必须协调努力，改善获得医疗保健的机会和宫颈癌病例监测系统，特别是在地理上处于不利地位的地区。
