Cervical cancer screening--"For better or worse...": women's experience of screening

Abstract

In Sweden, the population-based cervical cancer screening program has been in progress since the 1970s and is directed toward women between 23 and 60 years of age. The aim of this study was to explore women's experience of cervical screening after being diagnosed with cancer. A qualitative study inspired by Grounded Theory was used. Eleven women were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method. "Screening-For Better or Worse..." was identified as the core category, around which the categories "Unawareness," "Trust," "Search for Understanding," and "Making the Invisible Visible" were integrated and on which the conceptual model was built. The experience of screening had both a positive and a negative dimension for the women stricken by cervical cancer. The women had a positive experience of screening as such and they believed in its benefits. However, many women felt deceived and, because of their unawareness, questions arose for which they searched for understanding. The women requested adequate and understandable information. Their trust remained because the contact with healthcare professionals involved in screening and in the follow-up program had been reassuring.