Barriers to uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in Nigeria: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer and cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Nigeria. The Visual inspection with acetic acid and cryotherapy “see and treat” screening approach is a feasible and effective method that can be implemented in low resource settings like Nigeria; however, screening utilization is still low. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims at offering a comprehensive synthesis of studies that assessed the barriers preventing women from utilizing cervical cancer screening services in Nigeria. METHODS: Electronic data search was performed on PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, Directory of Open Access Journals, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect, and quality assessment was conducted for the included studies. Data were extracted independently by two authors and thematically analysed for barriers to cervical cancer screening utilization. RESULTS: Fifteen studies, consisting of 9,995 women aged 15 and above published between 2007 and 2020, were included. Frequently reported barriers to cervical screening include lack of knowledge of cervical cancer and screening, health service factors, screening is unnecessary, fear of outcome and procedure, and financial constraints. CONCLUSION: Lack of adequate information about cervical cancer is a significant hindrance to screening; this factor is strongly associated with the numerous misconceptions and negative perceptions. The study highlights the need for further assessment of the sociodemographic determinants of cervical cancer screening uptake in Nigeria. Preventive strategies should be targeted at improving the dissemination of valid information, reducing the knowledge gap among women, and addressing the financial and health service factors.