Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative study
Objective Cervical cancer remains the most diagnosed and deadly cancer among women in low and middle income countries, including Ethiopia, although it can be controlled if detected and treated early. However, research on contextual barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer is limi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e087792.full |
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| author | Alem Gebremariam Adamu Addissie Alemayehu Worku Mathewos Assefa Eva Johanna Kantelhardt Ahmedin Jemal Nebiyu Dereje |
| author_facet | Alem Gebremariam Adamu Addissie Alemayehu Worku Mathewos Assefa Eva Johanna Kantelhardt Ahmedin Jemal Nebiyu Dereje |
| author_sort | Alem Gebremariam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective Cervical cancer remains the most diagnosed and deadly cancer among women in low and middle income countries, including Ethiopia, although it can be controlled if detected and treated early. However, research on contextual barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer is limited in Ethiopia. This study aimed to describe the lived experience of the patients and to explore the barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer.Design We conducted a phenomenological qualitative study, which was part of a larger mixed-methods study.Setting Tikur Anbesa Specialised Comprehensive Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Participants 24 purposively selected patients with diagnostic delay and 16 patients with treatment delay were interviewed using an in-depth interview guide (IDI).Results Two broad themes and seven sub-themes to explain the barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer emerged. These themes and sub-themes include patient related barriers (inadequate knowledge, visits to traditional healers and practice of religious rituals as a solution for illness, poor adherence to the treatments and fear of side effects, and financial hardships) and provider related barriers (limited access to diagnostic and treatment infrastructure, inadequate training of healthcare providers and poor quality of care).Conclusions The findings of the study underscore the need to reinforce awareness among patients and the community, scale up the screening, diagnostic and treatment infrastructure, and advocate for quality of care in the healthcare facilities in Ethiopia to promote early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-efabaec070d7434fa43a5e66e6ef395a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-efabaec070d7434fa43a5e66e6ef395a2025-01-17T22:45:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-01-0115110.1136/bmjopen-2024-087792Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative studyAlem Gebremariam0Adamu Addissie1Alemayehu Worku2Mathewos Assefa3Eva Johanna Kantelhardt4Ahmedin Jemal5Nebiyu Dereje63 Global Health Working Group, Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg Halle, Germany3 Global Health Working Group, Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg Halle, Germany5 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia6 Department of Oncology, Addis Ababa University School of Medicine, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia3 Global Health Working Group, Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg Halle, Germany9 Surveillance and Health Services Research, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia, USA1 School of Public Health, Wachemo University, Hossana, EthiopiaObjective Cervical cancer remains the most diagnosed and deadly cancer among women in low and middle income countries, including Ethiopia, although it can be controlled if detected and treated early. However, research on contextual barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer is limited in Ethiopia. This study aimed to describe the lived experience of the patients and to explore the barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer.Design We conducted a phenomenological qualitative study, which was part of a larger mixed-methods study.Setting Tikur Anbesa Specialised Comprehensive Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Participants 24 purposively selected patients with diagnostic delay and 16 patients with treatment delay were interviewed using an in-depth interview guide (IDI).Results Two broad themes and seven sub-themes to explain the barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer emerged. These themes and sub-themes include patient related barriers (inadequate knowledge, visits to traditional healers and practice of religious rituals as a solution for illness, poor adherence to the treatments and fear of side effects, and financial hardships) and provider related barriers (limited access to diagnostic and treatment infrastructure, inadequate training of healthcare providers and poor quality of care).Conclusions The findings of the study underscore the need to reinforce awareness among patients and the community, scale up the screening, diagnostic and treatment infrastructure, and advocate for quality of care in the healthcare facilities in Ethiopia to promote early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e087792.full |
| spellingShingle | Alem Gebremariam Adamu Addissie Alemayehu Worku Mathewos Assefa Eva Johanna Kantelhardt Ahmedin Jemal Nebiyu Dereje Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative study BMJ Open |
| title | Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative study |
| title_full | Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative study |
| title_short | Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: qualitative study |
| title_sort | barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer in addis ababa ethiopia qualitative study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e087792.full |
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