Women's autonomy and discrimination relevant to cervical cancer screening.

Authors

Adja Maguette Diaw, Fatoumata Binetou Diongue, Ibrahima Ndiaye, Omar Gassama, Ndeye Mbombe Dieng, Saria Awadalla, Fatou Bintou Seck, Ndèye Marème Sougou, Sarah Abboud, Assane Sall, Hilaire Sarr, Aida Fall, Aliath Salami, Alexis Claire Klima, Aida Barro, Elle Martell, Ahmadou Babana El Alaoui, J Andrew Dykens, Caryn E Peterson, Adama Faye

Published in

Frontiers in reproductive health. Volume 8. Pages 1837034. Epub Aug 14, 2026.

Abstract

Cervical cancer remains the fourth most common cancer affecting women worldwide, with large geographical variations in incidence and mortality rates. The objective of this study is to determine whether women's autonomy is predictive of the use of cervical cancer screening services in Senegal.
This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of a sample of 312 women. Data were analyzed using R 4.2 software. Logistic regression was used to analyze associations between indicators of women's autonomy and cervical cancer screening practices.
Compared with women whose partners made the decision regarding cervical cancer screening, women who reported making the decision themselves (AOR: 10.07; 95% CI: 2.72, 37.33) or jointly with their partner (AOR: 5.34; 95% CI: 1.35, 21.21) were more likely to have undergone screening. Women who were aware of the existence of a cervical cancer screening test were also more likely to have been screened than those who were not aware of it (AOR: 7.67; 95% CI: 1.41, 41.61). In contrast, women residing in Dakar were more likely to have undergone cervical cancer screening than those residing in the Kédougou region (AOR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.96).
This study shows that increased autonomy among women predicts greater use of cervical cancer screening services by women. Therefore, policy interventions should focus on empowering women to make autonomous decisions about their health.

PMID:
42666289
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Aug 2026.

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