Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi

Women living with HIV (WLHIV) are at higher risk of developing cervical cancer than those who are HIV negative. In order to increase access to services, international policy recommendations include the integration of cervical cancer screening into HIV care: a pilot study carried out in Malawi report...

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Main Author: Kabota, Beatrice Phakira
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences 2022
Online Access:http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw/handle/20.500.12845/632
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author Kabota, Beatrice Phakira
author_facet Kabota, Beatrice Phakira
author_sort Kabota, Beatrice Phakira
collection DSpace
description Women living with HIV (WLHIV) are at higher risk of developing cervical cancer than those who are HIV negative. In order to increase access to services, international policy recommendations include the integration of cervical cancer screening into HIV care: a pilot study carried out in Malawi reported high uptake of cervical cancer screening after integration with HIV care in Malawi. However, evidence has shown that despite attempts at integration, there is still underutilization of cervical cancer screening services among WLHIV in clinics across Malawi. Hence this study that aimed to explore the barriers to cervical cancer screening among WLHIV attending the Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi. A qualitative study design , was carried out at Nkhoma Hospital ART clinic. Seventeen in-depth interviews were conducted among WLHIV who had never accessed cervical cancer screening services. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis method. Eight (8) themes emerged from the study. These include: (i) poor communication approaches, (ii) lack of knowledge of where to access screening services, (iii) fear emanating from negative experiences shared by peers, and fear of a cancer diagnosis itself), (iv) feeling of embarrassment over exposure of private body parts, (v) myths and misconceptions (vi), low perceived vulnerability, (vii) long travelling distances and (viii) long waiting times. These findings confirm the need to improve delivery of cervical cancer screening for WLHIV at Nkhoma Hospital. They highlight the need for client-centered counseling and support to overcome fears and misconceptions, and designing health promotion messages that may directly address the concerns of WLHIV.
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spelling oai:nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:20.500.12845-6322023-03-12T00:03:30Z Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi Kabota, Beatrice Phakira Women living with HIV (WLHIV) are at higher risk of developing cervical cancer than those who are HIV negative. In order to increase access to services, international policy recommendations include the integration of cervical cancer screening into HIV care: a pilot study carried out in Malawi reported high uptake of cervical cancer screening after integration with HIV care in Malawi. However, evidence has shown that despite attempts at integration, there is still underutilization of cervical cancer screening services among WLHIV in clinics across Malawi. Hence this study that aimed to explore the barriers to cervical cancer screening among WLHIV attending the Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi. A qualitative study design , was carried out at Nkhoma Hospital ART clinic. Seventeen in-depth interviews were conducted among WLHIV who had never accessed cervical cancer screening services. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis method. Eight (8) themes emerged from the study. These include: (i) poor communication approaches, (ii) lack of knowledge of where to access screening services, (iii) fear emanating from negative experiences shared by peers, and fear of a cancer diagnosis itself), (iv) feeling of embarrassment over exposure of private body parts, (v) myths and misconceptions (vi), low perceived vulnerability, (vii) long travelling distances and (viii) long waiting times. These findings confirm the need to improve delivery of cervical cancer screening for WLHIV at Nkhoma Hospital. They highlight the need for client-centered counseling and support to overcome fears and misconceptions, and designing health promotion messages that may directly address the concerns of WLHIV. 2022-05-12T16:04:25Z 2022-05-12T16:04:25Z 2020-11-01 Thesis http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw/handle/20.500.12845/632 en application/pdf Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
spellingShingle Kabota, Beatrice Phakira
Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi
title Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi
title_full Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi
title_fullStr Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi
title_full_unstemmed Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi
title_short Exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLHIV) attending an ART clinic at Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi
title_sort exploring barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living with hiv (wlhiv) attending an art clinic at nkhoma hospital, malawi
url http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw/handle/20.500.12845/632
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