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. 2021 Jun:72:101930.
doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2021.101930. Epub 2021 Mar 20.

Prevalence and determinants of cervical cancer screening in five sub-Saharan African countries: A population-based study

Djibril M Ba  1 , Paddy Ssentongo  2 , Jonah Musa  3 , Edeanya Agbese  2 , Brehima Diakite  4 , Cheick Bougadari Traore  4 , Steve Wang  5 , Mamoudou Maiga  6
Affiliations

Prevalence and determinants of cervical cancer screening in five sub-Saharan African countries: A population-based study

Djibril M Ba et al. Cancer Epidemiol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, with an estimate of 570,000 new cases and about 311,000 deaths annually. Low-resource countries, including those in sub-Saharan Africa, have the highest-burden with an estimate of 84 % of all cervical cancers. This study examines the prevalence and socio-demographic-economic factors associated with cervical cancer screening in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: A weighted population-based cross-sectional study using Demographic and Health Surveys data. We used available data on cervical cancer screening between 2011 and 2018 from the Demographic and Health Surveys for five sub-Saharan African countries (Benin, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe). The study population included women of childbearing age, 21-49 years (n = 28,976). We fit a multivariable Poisson regression model to identify independent factors associated with cervical cancer screening.

Results: The overall weighted prevalence of cervical cancer screening was 19.0 % (95 % CI: 18.5 %-19.5 %) ranging from 0.7 % in Benin to 45.9 % in Namibia. Independent determinants of cervical cancer screening were: older age (40-49 years) adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 1.77 (95 % CI: 1.64, 1.90) compared with younger age (21-29 years), secondary/higher education (aPR = 1.51, 95 CI: 1.28-1.79) compared with no education, health insurance (aPR = 1.53, 95 % CI: 1.44-1.61) compared with no insurance, and highest socioeconomic status (aPR = 1.39, 95 % CI: 1.26-1.52) compared with lowest.

Conclusion: The prevalence of cervical cancer screening is substantially low in sub-Saharan Africa countries and shows a high degree of between-country variation. Interventions aimed at increasing the uptake of cervical cancer screening in sub-Saharan Africa are critically needed.

Keywords: Cervical cancer screening; Demographic and health surveys; Sub-Saharan Africa; Women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of conflicts of interest

All authors have no conflict of interest to disclose as it relates to this research.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Weighted Prevalence of Cervical Cancer Screening in sub-Saharan Africa (%) in women of childbearing age 21–49 years shaded by Sub-Saharan countries in Africa. Countries shaded white were not included in the analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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