Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Cervical health awareness month: Unveiling inequities in cervical cancer outcomes

Bintou Diarra
Conditions
January 21, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is among the most preventable and treatable gynecological cancers. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and longitudinal screening are highly effective modes of prevention and detection, respectively. While statistics on the efficacy of vaccination and screening are promising, the realities surrounding cervical cancer outcomes are anything but. A closer look at the diagnosis and mortality rates paints quite a bleak picture.

The United States’ cervical health outcomes speak to stark racial disparities. Although Black women and white women receive diagnoses at similar rates, Black women are more likely to die of cervical cancer. Worse, Black women have the highest mortality rate of any other racial group. January is Cervical Health Awareness Month. In honoring the lives of those affected, we must acknowledge harsh truths about the health conditions in our nation and take steps to improve. More importantly, we must sit with the truth of our health establishment’s entanglement with anti-Black racism and misogynoir.

There are gaps in care, and these gaps unveil the pernicious effects of structural racism on Black women’s livelihoods and bodies. Evaluating the manifestations of structural racism is a key step in changing these outcomes.

One such manifestation is inadequate gynecological care access. Compared to other neighborhoods, Black neighborhoods are 67 percent more likely to lack a local primary care physician. The key to prevention and survival is appropriate and timely screening. With the inaccessibility of a local gynecologist comes limited access to this resource, which makes it difficult to treat precancers before the condition progresses. Ultimately, this arrangement divests Black women of their right to take necessary preventive measures.

The negative implications of this shortage do not end with the shortage of gynecologists in Black neighborhoods. Pre-existing conditions, such as a weakened immune system, greatly impact the progression of the disease. Unfortunately, this means that once Black women receive a diagnosis, they are likely to come in untreated for other chronic illnesses that may exacerbate the condition.

While cervical health disparities persist along racial lines at every economic level, it is important to note who these care shortages impact the most. Geographical factors, in addition to class, have implications for the health care of Black women.

These care gaps leave low-income Black women in regions like the rural South especially vulnerable. The issue of constant hospital closures in the regions that fall outside of our nation’s urban centers creates maternity care deserts. In these counties, obstetrical and gynecological health care services are limited—or virtually absent. Unfortunately, this issue is worsening with time. According to a 2022 March of Dimes report, more than  1 in 3 U.S counties are maternity care deserts.

Structural racism also manifests as unconscious bias in gynecological care. Physicians have great discretion in their practice and recommendation of cervical cancer screening. This can prove fatal for Black women and birthing people. Notions of Black women’s exceptional strength and imperviousness to pain may lead physicians to 1) dismiss the complaints of Black patients and 2) prolong the time before a doctor recommends a patient for screening. Because the efficacy of treatment correlates with the speed of detection, time is of the essence.

In addition to screening and diagnosis, this implicit bias shapes the ensuing treatment options for Black birthing patients. Studies show that Black women are more likely to receive no treatment after a diagnosis—a reality that may be tied to both implicit bias and comorbid conditions.

Another manifestation of structural racism within the medical establishment is its erasure of Black women and birthing people. Despite growing knowledge of the significance of screening and early detection, nascent policy decisions have done away with annual pap smears. The reason for this change seems scientifically sound. According to health professionals, the expansion of time between the screening tests acknowledges the time it takes for cervical cancer to develop.

While health professionals are deeming annual pap smears unnecessary, the current state of Black women’s cervical health renders routine screening absolutely necessary. Black women are more likely to present with advanced cervical cancer. Even in the absence of interpersonal experiences, these policy decisions manage to undermine Black women and birthing people to reproduce negative health outcomes.

We cannot change what we refuse to acknowledge. The state of cervical health is a fragment of a larger picture—one of a system that routinely fails Black women and birthing people. Racial disparities in survival warrant further investigation if we are to undo the systemic racism that contributes to poor outcomes.

Bintou Diarra is a premedical student.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

Saving mothers: How technology can aid in the fight against preventable maternal deaths

January 21, 2023 Kevin 1
…
Next

Where have all the pediatric beds gone? The consequence of strict admission criteria.

January 21, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: OB/GYN

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Saving mothers: How technology can aid in the fight against preventable maternal deaths
Next Post >
Where have all the pediatric beds gone? The consequence of strict admission criteria.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Bintou Diarra

  • COVID-19 and the Tuskegee syphilis study

    Bintou Diarra

Related Posts

  • We have a shot at preventing cervical cancer

    Lisa N. Abaid, MD, MPH
  • Are negative news cycles and social media injurious to our health?

    Rabia Jalal, MD
  • Caught in the middle: How health insurance companies influence cancer drug selection

    Paul Pender, MD
  • How social media can help or hurt your health care career

    Health eCareers
  • Obstruction of medical justice: How health care fails patients with cancer

    Miriam A. Knoll, MD
  • Sharing mental health issues on social media

    Tarena Lofton

More in Conditions

  • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

    Pearl Jones, MD
  • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

    Benjamin Cohen, MD
  • How proposed NIH budget cuts could derail Alzheimer’s research

    Tamer Hage, Tejas Sekhar, and Swapna Vaja
  • A spoonful of vinegar: Why simple glucose hacks deserve more medical attention

    Callia Georgoulis
  • Living through injury: one family’s journey to the other side

    Sarah White, APRN
  • Why congenital CMV should be on every parent and doctor’s radar

    Kathleen Muldoon, PhD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Essential questions about nurse practitioner liability insurance [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why being a physician mom is harder than anyone admits

      Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH | Physician
    • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

      Sarah White, APRN | Education
    • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

      Benjamin Cohen, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Essential questions about nurse practitioner liability insurance [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why being a physician mom is harder than anyone admits

      Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH | Physician
    • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

      Sarah White, APRN | Education
    • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

      Benjamin Cohen, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Cervical health awareness month: Unveiling inequities in cervical cancer outcomes
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...