2025/06/21 by Turin, Tanvir C., Ferdous, Mahzabin
#Community Engagement #Ethnic Minority #Immigrant #Inclusive #Newcomer #Participatory #Power Informed #Racialized #Transdisciplinary #Visible Minority
paper · doi:10.11575/prism/48969
We have summarized the research regarding barriers to cervical cancer screening among immigrant women in Canada. We conducted a comprehensive search of published and grey literature to capture barriers through the perspectives of immigrant populations, healthcare providers, and stakeholders. Our initial search yielded 687 articles and, after applying the inclusion criteria, we identified 28 studies for final synthesis. We used a thematic analysis approach to categorize the barriers identified across the studies. Six major thematic categories emerged: (a) economic barriers; (b) healthcare system-related barriers; (c) cultural barriers; (d) language barriers; (e) knowledge-related barriers; and (f) individual-level barriers. Within these thematic categories, patients’, healthcare providers’, and stakeholders’ perspectives were presented to provide an outline on which future engagement toward solutions could be planned. Using a thematic analysis of the barriers helps organize the material, but grounding the themes and the identified barriers within a theoretical framework is helpful when considering possible solutions. Anchoring our identified barriers within the theoretical framework of Social Ecological Model (SEM) offers a holistic overview of the multilevel barriers faced by immigrant women in accessing cervical cancer screening and helps explain these findings in a solution-oriented way. This grounding of barriers within the SEM framework will aid in developing interventions directed at mitigating barriers.