Assessment of effective coverage of the prevention and treatment of the common cancers in women in Abhar County

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: In order to reduce the care costs of patients, the need to implement preventive measures for non-communicable diseases such as cancer can be one of the most effective solutions to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases that are imposed on the country's health system. Cancers are one of the most important non-communicable diseases around the world. Purpose: Considering the high prevalence of breast and cervical cancers in women, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effective coverage of breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment services and determine the gaps in the effective coverage of these cancers based on the Tanahashi model in Abhar city. Methods and materials: In this descriptive-analytical study, the effectiveness of the health system's measures in the field of women's care in Abhar city was measured in terms of common women's cancers and the existing gaps in the effective coverage of breast and cervical cancers were determined based on the Tanahashi model. The opinions of experts, doctors, caregivers, and patients were used through interviews to identify the reason for low effective coverage, and different methods were used to collect and analyze data. Results: The total number of women aged 30 to 59 who referred to health centers in Abhar (22 centers) for cancer screening was 3,7074, of which 9,926 (26.77%) were selected as samples. The average age of these women was 37.9 years. The lowest effective breast coverage was related to urban-rural areas with 21.92% and the highest effective coverage was related to rural areas with 49.95%. The lowest effective cervical coverage was related to urban-rural areas with 20.45% and the highest effective coverage was related to rural areas with 51.45%. Among the potential bottlenecks examined on the supply and demand side, most of them were on the demand side and related to the lack of sufficient expertise of doctors, lack of provision of necessary information and services by personnel. Bottlenecks on the supply side were related to financial incapacity to follow up on care. Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that the effective coverage of breast and cervical cancer screening and care in the health centers of Abhar city was less than the standards and according to the Bottlenecks, it is necessary to create programs to improve the screening programs. Keywords: effective coverage, breast cancer, cervical cancer, Bottlenecks