Abstract
BackgroundStudies on the determinants of cervical cancer screening in sub-Saharan Africa have focused mostly on individual-level characteristics of cervical cancer screening. Therefore, in this study, we included both individual- and community-level indicators to examine the determinants of cervical cancer screening among Kenyan women.MethodsWe analyzed data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys. Our analysis focused on 9016 married women of reproductive age (15–49 years). We conducted multilevel analyses using generalized linear mixed models with the log-binomial function to simultaneously analyze the association of individual- and community-level factors with cervical cancer screening.ResultsAbout 72.1% of women (n = 6498) knew about cervical cancer. Of these women, only 19.4% had undergone cervical cancer screening [58.24% Papanicolaou (Pap) test and 41.76% visual inspection]. Our multivariate analysis results indicated that the prevalence of cervical cancer screening was higher among women aged 35-49 years than women aged 15-24 years. The prevalence was also higher among women residing in the Central, Nyanza, and Nairobi regions than women residing in the Coastal region. Cervical cancer screening was more prevalent among women who had media exposure, had higher household wealth index, were employed, were insured, and had visit a health facility in 12 months than did their counterparts. The prevalence of Pap test history was 19% higher among women who had sexual autonomy than women who did not have sexual autonomy. The prevalence of Pap test history was also higher among communities comprised of higher proportions of women with sexual autonomy and higher education.ConclusionsPolicies should emphasize increasing gender equality, improving education at the community level, providing employment opportunities for women, and increasing universal health insurance coverage. These focal points can ensure equity in access to health care services and further increase the prevalence of cervical cancer screening in Kenya.
Highlights
Studies on the determinants of cervical cancer screening in sub-Saharan Africa have focused mostly on individual-level characteristics of cervical cancer screening
Our analysis focused on 9016 married women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in 1588 clusters who were interviewed face to face about cervical cancer
Approximately 28% of married Kenyan women had no previous knowledge of cervical cancer (Table 1)
Summary
Studies on the determinants of cervical cancer screening in sub-Saharan Africa have focused mostly on individual-level characteristics of cervical cancer screening. Cervical cancer incidence rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are the highest worldwide, and the disease is the most common cause of cancer death among women in this region [3, 4]. In Kenya, cervical cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women aged 15–44 years, with an estimated 4802 women diagnosed and 2451 deaths from the disease annually [5]. These elevated incidence and mortality rates can be attributed to the absence of the HPV vaccine and the low screening coverage [6]. These women were either beyond the recommended age for the vaccines and/or already exposed to HPV [8]
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