The psychosocial implications of cervical cancer in women living in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Background: A cervical cancer diagnosis has several implications for women’s lives. Living with cervical cancer in the context of sub-Sahara Africa’s unique challenges can have a devastating effect on psychosocial health.

Objectives: This study describes the publication output reporting psychosocial implications of cervical cancer for women living in sub-Saharan Africa.

Method: A scoping review was conducted using the keywords Africa and cervical cancer in combination with psychosocial, psychological, social, spiritual, cultural and financial to search five databases. A data extraction sheet was developed to capture the relative data, which was analysed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. Of the 294 articles initially identified, 18 were included in the review.

Results: The majority of the studies (66.7%; n = 12) were qualitative. They focussed on five psychosocial domains – psychological including a lack of knowledge, misunderstanding and unmet information needs, the omnipresent experience of fear and sexual problems as well as social, cultural, spiritual and financial implications.

Conclusion: Work focussing on the psychosocial implications of cervical cancer in women living in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. Only one study focussed specifically on a psychosocial domain, the rest reported little about psychosocial issues. There is an urgent need for research that focusses exclusively on psychosocial health, separate from other studies.

Contribution: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study synthesising research conducted on this specific topic. We mapped the extent of the current evidence base, identified gaps and highlighted areas requiring additional inquiry.