Inequalities In Screening Participation Research Articles

Adapting Participatory Workshops to a Virtual Setting: Co-Design With Muslim Women of a Faith-Based Intervention to Encourage Cancer Screening Uptake

Early diagnosis of cancer through screening can reduce deaths and treatment burden if the people invited participate. Yet inequalities in screening participation remain: ethnic minority groups in particular experience barriers to cancer screening that need to be addressed in order to contribute to improving equality in health outcomes. Community-centred, participatory approaches can ensure that cancer screening interventions are culturally appropriate to the communities they are intended to serve. Virtual participatory research faces unique challenges in building the rapport required for successful collaboration between participants and researchers. This article describes the successful adaption of face-to-face participatory methods to co-designing, online, an intervention using faith-based messages to reduce cancer screening barriers. Based on the World Café method, we conducted four two-hour workshops by video call with a group of 10 Muslim women (29–65 years) from Glasgow, UK. Activities included (i) plenary and small-group discussions, (ii) graphic recording, and (iii) expert presentations. The workshops covered four topics: Islam and health, screening barriers, faith-based messages for screening barriers, and delivering a faith-based intervention. Anonymous feedback questionnaires evaluating each workshop showed the women found the workshops interesting, informative, and helpful. They reported being glad they had participated. Our findings highlight the importance of interactive discussion and low participant burden to optimise online co-design. The workshops created a faith-based cancer screening intervention engaging and accessible to Muslim women.

Socioeconomic inequalities in the utilisation of hypertension and type 2 diabetes management services in Indonesia.

SummaryObjectivesTo describe socioeconomic inequalities in the utilisation of hypertension and type 2 diabetes (T2D) management services in the Indonesian population and to determine whether education level and geographical location contribute to inequalities.MethodsCross‐sectional study using data from the 2014 Indonesia Family Life Survey (N = 30 762 for hypertension; N = 6758 for T2D). Socioeconomic status was measured by household consumption. The prevalence of hypertension and T2D was determined using internationally standardised clinical measurement, while disease management was defined by participation in screening and current use of medication. The relative index of inequality (RII) was used to estimate inequalities, adjusted to education level and geographical location.ResultsFor all household consumption quintiles, we observed low rates of screening participation for T2D and low medication use in both hypertension and T2D. We found socioeconomic inequalities in screening participation for hypertension (RII 2.68, 95% CI 2.42–2.96) and T2D (RII 7.30, 95% CI 5.48–9.72) and also for medication use in hypertension (RII 3.09, 95% CI 2.28–4.18) and T2D (RII 2.81, 95% CI 1.09–7.27). Education level contributed to socioeconomic inequalities in screening utilisation for both hypertension and T2D. Geographical location contributed to inequalities in screening utilisation and medication use for T2D. Socioeconomic inequalities in medication use for hypertension and T2D were larger among men than women.ConclusionsLarge socioeconomic inequalities were found in the utilisation of hypertension and T2D management services in Indonesia. Improving affordability, availability and approachability of services is crucial to reduce such inequalities.

The inverse equity hypothesis: Does it apply to coverage of cancer screening in middle-income countries?

BackgroundIt is uncertain whether the inverse equity hypothesis—the idea that new health interventions are initially primarily accessed by the rich, but that inequalities narrow with diffusion to the poor—holds true...

Inequalities in screening participation among Lithuanian adult population

Introduction In countries with existing screening programmes the relevant health issue remains inequalities in participation which contributes to the widening gap in morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess factors associated with inequalities in screening participation among Lithuanian adult population. Methods The cross sectional survey of representative samples of 367 male aged 40–69 years and 633 female aged 25–69 years, belonging to the screening groups, …