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Influence of role in intra-household decision making on the uptake of gynaecological cancer screening practices among women (aged 45 years and above): Evidence from India

Shreya Banerjee, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Breast and cervix are the leading sites of cancer among women in India. Early diagnosis and treatment play a crucial role in improving cancer survivorship. However, as observed in various studies, diagnosis of cancer, particularly among the women, happens at advanced stages which may be attributed to the fact that there is inadequate awareness, disempowerment, stigma and inappropriate health seeking behaviour among the women. The World Health Organisation recommends regular screening of all women at risk of gynaecological cancers, even if asymptomatic, in order to detect cancerous tendencies, which, if left untreated, may prove to be fatal. Given this backdrop, the central concern of the study is to delve into the complex interplay of a woman’s uptake of screening tests (namely PAP smear test and mammogram) and her participation in intra-household decision making, which is a proxy of her level of empowerment and agency within the family. Using the wave-1 data of the Longitudinal Ageing Survey of India (2017-18), logit models are proposed to capture the association between uptake of cancer screening practices and a woman’s role in ‘buying and selling of property’ and involvement in ‘payment of bills and settling of financial matters’, controlling for a vector of covariates and interaction terms.

Keywords: Gender, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Inequality, Health and morbidity

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P6.