Understanding Cervical Cancer Screening Intentions Through the Lens of Care-Seeking Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Study...

Cervical cancer screening among Ghanaian women is generally unsatisfactory due to sociocultural norms and poor knowledge, despite its critical role in the early detection of cervical cancer. Due to culturally insensitive healthcare practices in a secular country like Ghana, Islamic women may avoid cervical cancer screening. Understanding determinants of cervical cancer screening intentions among Islamic women is a critical step that can help the design of initiatives to increase screening among Muslim populations in Ghana.

This study aimed to assess the determinants of cervical cancer screening intentions among Islamic women in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana.

A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the Ayigya and Anloga communities of the Ashanti Region from November 2, 2023, to January 29, 2024. Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to determine the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Outcome variables with p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Respondents were highly religious women of Ghanaian Northern ancestry, with secondary-level education as the highest educational attainment. The majority of participants (55%) had high knowledge about cervical cancer, 65% knew the benefits of early screening, 50.8% were inclined to screen asymptomatically, and 76.4% believed that there were facilitating factors. However, most of the participants (50.2%) perceived that the screening practices violated Islamic and personal norms.

Level of religiosity, availability of screening services, knowledge of cervical cancer, personal and cultural norms, negative emotions associated with the cervical screening process, and negative feelings about the potential for a positive cervical cancer diagnosis determined Islamic women's cervical cancer screening intentions. Implementing national cervical cancer education campaigns focused on addressing the cervical cancer disease misconceptions, negative emotions about the cervical cancer screening process and outcomes, as well as training providers on culturally competent screening practices, are encouraged.