Determinants of Demand for Cervical Cancer Screening Services in Rural Areas in Kenya

Abstract

Cervical cancer is a disease of gender and other inequalities. Research indicates that a woman screened even once between the age of 35 and 40 years has a reduced probability of getting cancer of the cervix in her lifetime by 25 to 36 percent. Kenya is ranked number 16 among the 20 nations with high cervix cancer disease burden. Despite the fact that screening is an effective means, uptake of cervical cancer screening services (CCSS) is low among eligible women especially in rural Kenya. Studies done have showed that between 60 percent and 85 percent of the rural women are aware about cancer of the cervix yet less than 3 percent of them have been screened. This study was mainly conducted to establish the determinants for demand of the CCSS in rural areas of Kenya. The specific objectives were for determination of the general profiles of women using CCSS in rural areas in Kenya, and investigate the effect of socioeconomic factors on demand for cervical cancer screening while holding provider factors constant in rural areas in Kenya. The study made use of the latest 2014 Kenya Demographic Household Survey which is a household-based cross sectional survey data containing general information on all major health care services. The hypothesised relationship was estimated through the use of robust binary probit regression model and tested significance at 1 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent levels. From the findings, there were 19,465 women of reproductive age in rural areas with those using cervical cancer screening services at 16.57 percent. It was revealed that about 20.15 percent of the persons interviewed in urban areas demanded CCSS while only 14.12 percent of the persons interviewed in rural areas demanded CCSS. Estimation results revealed that socioeconomic factors led to a significant increase in demand for CCSS among rural women in Kenya. Specifically, middle and rich wealth indices as well as all education levels were significantly and positively associated with demand for CCSS in Kenya. Based on the study findings, the study suggests that there is a need for the government to lower socioeconomic status disparities in health by developing a policy initiative that addresses the main components of socioeconomic status which include income, education, and occupation as well as the way in which these components affect health seeking behaviour of rural women.