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Promoting cervical screening among women experiencing homelessness and socio‐economic disadvantage in Sydney
Author(s) -
Lovell Renee C.,
Botfield Jessica R.,
Cheng Yan,
Tilley Donna M.,
Fazio Alice,
Estoesta Jane
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1002/hpja.322
Subject(s) - workforce , disadvantage , disadvantaged , medicine , cervical screening , family medicine , focus group , cervical cancer , nursing , cervical cancer screening , economic growth , business , political science , cancer , marketing , law , economics
Issue Addressed Australia's national cervical screening program has reduced rates of cervical cancer morbidity and mortality. However, these benefits have not been experienced by all women. A Cervical Cancer Screening Project was implemented with lay health educators to address inequitable screening access by women experiencing socio‐economic disadvantage. Methods Resources and a training program were developed and piloted with the specialist homelessness services workforce in Sydney, NSW. Data was collected to inform their development and evaluation through interviews, focus groups, self‐administered surveys and analysis of NSW Pap Test Register data. Results Women reported low familiarity with the term ‘cervical screening’. They identified a good patient‐doctor relationship, and seeing a female practitioner, as screening enablers. While the majority reported having cervical screening before, NSW Pap Test Register data showed only 74% had screened previously and of those, 69% were overdue. Homelessness service workers expressed interest in talking with clients about cervical screening, and reported increased knowledge and confidence following training. Conclusion The homelessness sector is an appropriate venue to access women who are disadvantaged and under‐screened. However, increasing workforce capacity to discuss screening does not lead to increased screening for women accessing these services. Further efforts are required. So What? Access to cervical screening by women experiencing disadvantage remains a challenge. Sustained multi‐faceted health promotion efforts are required to increase access. These should be informed by additional research exploring barriers and enablers for this group of women.