Barriers to cervical cancer screening among low-income HIV-positive African American women.
This study elucidates the perspective of low-income HIV-positive African American women who have not received cervical cancer screening for five or more years, on the barriers they face in accessing and using reproductive health care. We focused on how women who live in a severely economically depressed and racially segregated neighborhood experience barriers to cervical cancer screening. Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, which allows for the organization of conditions and situations that bar utilization of health services, served as the theoretical framework. Findings from individual semi-structured interviews with 35 participants revealed the importance of psychological and emotional barriers as well as the more commonly reported economic, social, and health care system barriers. We suggest how access to care for this population can be increased by including psychological and emotional components in intervention efforts.
Andrasik
Michele Peake
MP
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. mpeake@u.washington.edu
Rose
Rachel
R
Pereira
Deidre
D
Antoni
Mike
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D036301:Qualitative Research; D034121:Reproductive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019037:Urban Health Services; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014932:Women's Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*