Acceptance of cervical cancer screening among women: global and Indian scenario

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the fourth most leading cause of cancer worldwide but most of the deaths have been reported from developing countries. The absence of HPV (Human papilloma virus) vaccination and cervical cancer screening program, two highly effective preventive interventions, may be to blame for this difference. Most of the countries have screening programs for cervical cancer but lack of education, Ignorance, lack of access or few other barriers have led to low acceptance of cervical cancer screening methods. One of the three components of WHO global elimination for cervical cancer strategy is to screen 70% of the women of the world by 2030 at the age of 35 and again at 45. In India cervical cancer screening prevalence is very low as of NFHS-5 (a nationally conducted family health survey). This study aims to review the cervical cancer screening acceptance across WHO regions with special focus on India. The literature search utilized PubMed, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate databases, with a period limit of January 2017 to July 2022.