The following are factors contributing to high incidence rates, especially among Black and HIV-positive women. These factors have therefore been taken into consideration in this revised policy: (urban versus rural): Women who Socio economic status and place of residence live in rural areas are disadvantaged regarding access to appropriate information and access to services. In some cases where a woman has access to a primary health care facility for screening, the referral to the next level of care is delayed due to poverty or financial challenges. Educational level: The default community messaging strategy is through written material. Furthermore the medium of communication is in English, which excludes most of the women living in rural areas, whose first language of communication is not English. Social arrangement of the family: Women in some communities are largely not decision makers in relation to health seeking patterns, especially sexual and reproductive health issues, because of their economic reliance on their male partners. In other communities the decision to seek medical advice is made by the elderly woman in the family who may not be adequately informed. Access to services: The health care system in South Africa is still largely with a focus on curative care. In addition, the availability of specialised health care services in South Africa is not equitably distributed according the needs of the community. Thus there are areas where advanced services are available and accessible while other parts of the country only offer basic health care services. The situation is exacerbated by the severe shortage of specialists such as oncologists, radiation oncologists, appropriately trained surgical specialists and oncologically trained nurses. There are challenges with inadequately trained health Health care worker skills: care workers, which contributes to a delay in diagnosis and referral to the next level of care for definitive treatment. Stigma: Due to the stigma associated with cervical cancer, patients tend to seeking treatment early or even disclosing the condition.
The following are factors contributing to high incidence rates, especially among Black and HIV-positive women. These factors have therefore been taken into consideration in this revised policy: Socio economic status and place of residence (urban versus rural): Women who live in rural areas are disadvantaged regarding access to appropriate information and access to services. In some cases where a woman has access to a primary health care facility for screening, the referral to the next level of care is delayed due to poverty or financial challenges. Educational level: The default community messaging strategy is through written material. Furthermore the medium of communication is in English, which excludes most of the women living in rural areas, whose first language of communication is not English. Social arrangement of the family: Women in some communities are largely not decision makers in relation to health seeking patterns, especially sexual and reproductive health issues, because of their economic reliance on their male partners. In other communities the decision to seek medical advice is made by the elderly woman in the family who may not be adequately informed. Access to services: The health care system in South Africa is still largely with a focus on curative care. In addition, the availability of specialised health care services in South Africa is not equitably distributed according the needs of the community. Thus there are areas where advanced services are available and accessible while other parts of the country only offer basic health care services. The situation is exacerbated by the severe shortage of specialists such as oncologists, radiation oncologists, appropriately trained surgical specialists and oncologically trained nurses. Health care worker skills: There are challenges with inadequately trained health care workers, which contributes to a delay in diagnosis and referral to the next level of care for definitive treatment. Stigma: Due to the stigma associated with cervical cancer, patients tend to seeking treatment early or even disclosing the condition.
ZAF_D1_CaCx%20Policy%202017.docx