Exploring primary health care nurses’ perceptions of cervical cancer screening in Leribe, Lesotho

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer ranks fourth among cancers recorded globally and is the second most common cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in women. Although cervical cancer is fatal, the early discovery of precancerous cells by extensive and recurrent screening could lead to a significant decline in incidence. However, the acceptance of cervical cancer screening is low, even among healthcare workers.
Aim: To explore the perceptions of primary care nurses about cervical cancer screening.
Setting: The study was carried out in four primary health care centres (PHCCs) in the Leribe district.
Methods: This is an exploratory qualitative study. The researcher purposively selected and interviewed 10 nurses at the selected PHCCs. The data were analysed thematically.
Results: Nurses’ perceptions of cervical cancer screening influenced whether they routinely detect the disease. Certain perceptions, such as being susceptible to cancer, fear of cancer consequences, feeling relieved by negative results, high self-efficacy, training and witnessing deaths, all encouraged routine screening. Those that discouraged routine screening included fear of positive testing, lack of results, perceived lack of confidence and privacy in screeners and low self-efficacy.
Conclusion: These findings show that nurses’ decisions to undergo a regular screening are either encouraged or discouraged by their perceptions about cervical cancer screening. They also imply that the general public may be impacted by these perceptions as well.
Contribution: These findings add significantly to the body of knowledge about how policies can be improved to improve nursing screening programmes, which can improve screening rates among the general population.