Factors Associated With Non-Participation In Cervical Cancer Screening In Yaoundé: A Mixed Quantitative And Qualitative Study

Abstract Background : The weak participation of women to cervical cancer screening is a major obstacle to the fight against that disease. This work had as objective to determine associated factors to the lack of cervical cancer screening in women in Cameroon, a middle-income country of Central Africa. Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional analytic study both quantitative and qualitative on 1000 sexually active women aged 25 years old and above coming to the gynecology department of the Centre hospitalier de recherche et d’application en chirurgie endoscopique et reproduction humaine from March to December 2017. Results: The mean age of the studied women was 37.1 ±10.1 years old, among them 733 (73.3%) had never been screened. Associated factors to the absence of previous screening were : age lower than 35 years old (OR=5.0 ; 95% CI : 3.6 – 6.9), Islam (OR=3.3 ; 95% CI :1.6 – 6.7), unemployment (OR=2 ; 95% CI : 1.5-2.7) and bachelorhood (OR=1.5 ; 95% CI: 1.1 – 2.1). The main evoked barriers to screening were: fear of cancer, inadequate sensitization, the lack of screening prescription by the medical staff and ignorance about the usefulness of screening. Conclusion : It is important to diversify the means of communication on cervical cancer while focusing specifically on groups associated with the greatest lack of screening participation. Increased screening prescriptions by healthcare workers could also increase screening participation of women.