Social Determinants of Health in Cervical Cancer: A Systematic Review

One of the crucial issues of the health system in developing countries is the unequal distribution of health, which leads to inequality in social status and living conditions. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women aged 20 to 39 in developing countries. However, its social determinants are not yet fully understood. The present systematic review was conducted to collect the social determinants of health in cervical cancer that have been identified so far.

This systematic review was conducted from December 2020 to April 2021 by reviewing Persian and English articles published in journals on social determinants of cervical cancer by the PRISMA method. First, the scientific databases were searched in the period 2000-2020 using "Social Determinants of Health", "Human Papillomavirus", and "Cervical Cancer" keywords (2333 English articles and 63 Persian articles were found). After evaluation, 20 articles (18 English articles and 2 Persian articles) were included in the study. The PRISMA (Preferred) checklist (Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes) was used to extract data from selected articles.

articles were reviewed, and social determinants of health in cervical cancer were presented in two general categories: structural (education, income, and race and ethnicity) and intermediate (access to services, behavioral factors, environmental-living conditions, and psychosocial factors).

The social determinants of health in the structural and intermediate sectors and their interaction affect cervical cancer. All aspects of cervical cancer are affected by prevention, screening, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation.