Introduction: Approximately 25 percent of Danish women do not participate in the national cervical cancer screening programme. This study aims to identify and describe the barriers to participation.
Materials and methods: Eight focus groups were held with 48 women aged 23-39.
Results: There is usually more than one reason for an individual woman's non-participation. The various barriers are often mutually reinforced. The study reveals seven general barriers: Insufficient and incorrect knowledge about screening and cervical cancer, Lack of understanding of why screening is relevant to the individual woman, The gynaecological examination, Fear of having cancer, Attitude towards seeing one's general practitioner, Practical circumstances that make participation difficult, Attitude towards screening. In general, women do not discuss cervical cancer screening with people close to them, but general practitioners seem to have a great potential to help them overcome the barriers.
Discussion: This study indicates that non-participation does not necessarily mean that the individual woman has made an informed choice. But since the individual woman often has more than one barrier towards screening, it is not an issue of information and knowledge alone. In order to increase compliance, efforts must be made to resolve as many of the seven barriers as possible.