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Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives

Includes bibliographical references.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dawood, Shanaaz
Other Authors: Moodley, Jennifer
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Public Health and Family Medicine 2015
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access_status_str Open Access
author Dawood, Shanaaz
author2 Moodley, Jennifer
author_browse Dawood, Shanaaz
Moodley, Jennifer
author_facet Moodley, Jennifer
Dawood, Shanaaz
author_sort Dawood, Shanaaz
collection Thesis
description Includes bibliographical references.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13135
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:56.154Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
publisherStr Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13135 Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives Dawood, Shanaaz Moodley, Jennifer Harries, Jane Public Health Includes bibliographical references. Cervical cancer is a public health problem particularly in developing countries where incidence of cervical cancer remains high, either due to a lack of screening or poorly organised screening programmes. Cytology based cervical screening is only beneficial if women with abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears are appropriately investigated. Colposcopy attendance following an abnormal Pap smear is a major problem in South Africa. The aim of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal Pap smear result. A qualitative study was conducted at a public sector tertiary hospital colposcopy service and two primary health care clinics in Cape Town, South Africa. Data collection included 32 semi-structured interviews: 12 face-to-face interviews with colposcopy clinic attendees, 12 telephonic interviews with colposcopy clinic non- attendees and 8 face-to-face interviews with health care providers. Client interviews explored barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance; knowledge and experiences of Pap smears, cervical cancer and the colposcopy procedure; scheduling of colposcopy appointments; provider communication; reasons for non-attendance; and community support and beliefs. Provider interviews explored barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance from a provider’s perspective, the colposcopy referral process, and provider challenges in the provision of Pap smear or colposcopy services. Results from this study highlighted that the main barriers to colposcopy attendance were: poor levels of knowledge of the importance of a Pap smear and the colposcopy procedure; a lack of awareness of cervical cancer as a disease; a fear of cancer; the asymptomatic nature of the disease; and transport costs. Health system factors that impacted negatively on colposcopy clinic attendance included: the inadequate feedback of Pap smear results – clients were not informed of Pap smear results or colposcopy appointments and therefore did not attend; a disjointed system of colposcopy scheduling; and staff shortages which resulted in less time for client tracking. Factors which promoted colposcopy attendance included experiencing symptoms; a family history of cancer due to the experience with death; colposcopy services situated closer to clients; and social support receive d from family members. Addressing these barriers requires promoting client knowledge with educational materials and improving provider communication with clients. In addition, establishing colposcopy services closer to clients and standardising the system of colposcopy scheduling can improve colposcopy adherence. 2015-06-26T11:23:50Z 2015-06-26T11:23:50Z 2014 Master Thesis Masters MPH http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13135 eng application/pdf Department of Public Health and Family Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Public Health
Dawood, Shanaaz
Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives
title_full Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives
title_fullStr Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives
title_short Barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear: patient and provider perspectives
title_sort barriers and facilitators to colposcopy attendance following an abnormal pap smear patient and provider perspectives
topic Public Health
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13135
work_keys_str_mv AT dawoodshanaaz barriersandfacilitatorstocolposcopyattendancefollowinganabnormalpapsmearpatientandproviderperspectives