Towards an inclusive cervical cancer screening strategy: approaches for reaching socioeconomically disadvantaged women.
Barriers to prevention and early detection of cancer among the socioeconomically disadvantaged are important areas for public health focus. A community coalition was established in North York, Ontario, to identify a suitable primary prevention initiative, cervical screening among young women of lower economic status. Two pilot communities were selected for the project. Community members, key informants and service providers participated in a series of individual and focus group meetings to identify barriers that impede cervical screening. The benefits and challenges of such a project will be importance to practitioners eager to work collaboratively on primary prevention initiatives. This article will be of interest to nurses wanting to foster a community coalition approach to program design, planning, implementation and evaluation. It will also assist nurses with utilizing needs-based assessment in their work. Although the findings relate to a population of women in a large urban centre, the results will be useful for nurses and other health professionals planning to engage in work related to cervical screening.
Cava
M
M
North York Public Health Department, USA.
Greenberg
M
M
Fitch
M
M
Spaner
D
D
Taylor
K
K
D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011203:Poverty; D016730:Program Development; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*