Magdiel Habila

Fellowship Site: University Of Jos, Nigeria

US Institution: University Of Arizona

Project Title: Barriers and Facilitators to Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women in Jos Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Study Proposal

Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths among Nigerian women. There is a consensus in the literature that the primary reasons for such high mortality include limited access to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, lack or access to and/or limited knowledge about cervical cancer screening, and the prevalence of HIV infection in the general population. In Nigeria, like in many low- and middle-income countries, the gold standard for cervical cancer screening is visual inspection via acetic acid, and this has proven to be cost effective in detecting cancer. However, while there are health systems in place meant to detect and treat cervical cancer, the literature suggests that there are several barriers to accessing health systems in Nigeria.

The purpose of this study is to identify and describe barriers and facilitators to accessing cervical cancer screening in Central Nigeria from patient and provider perspectives and to determine ways to leverage Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) process to develop and sustain increased uptake of screening services in order to downstage cervical cancer incidence among at risk women. Using a mixed-methods design, we aim to describe the barriers and facilitators to screening among women living in Jos and surrounding communities and determine the effect of HIV status on the use of screening services. We also aim to provide recommendations to JUTH in order to optimize screening services for these women.