title: Better late than never: reflections on the delayed prioritization of cervical cancer in international health.
abstract: Cervical cancer has disproportionately affected the world's most vulnerable women for generations, yet only recently has the disease become an international health priority. Using ethnographic evidence from a study in Iquitos, Peru, I identify three factors that have contributed to a historic blind spot regarding cervical cancer in underdeveloped regions: (a) transition theories predicting the emergence of cancer with increasing societal development, (b) chronic vs. infectious disease categories that miss the significance of infectious-associated cancers, and (c) dependence on epidemiologic statistics from underdeveloped regions for determining health care priorities. Implications for theory and education are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing, 220 Holmes Street, 64108-2676, USA. hunterj@umkc.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hunter
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D033262:Narration; D010568:Peru; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology; D016387:Women's Health