Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment of Cervical Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A Mobile Social Media Approach

Abstract

The cancer epidemic causes more deaths in developing countries than the more hyped HIV, malaria, and TB combined. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of cancer in developing countries, and the most prevalent type of cancer is the cancer of the cervix, with 57,381 deaths yearly. Many medical scholars agree that the high death rate from the cervical cancer scourge is preventable with effective cervical cancer control strategies such as appropriate prevention strategies in the form of awareness campaigns, effective screening for early diagnosis, and treatment programs. There have been numerous calls for measures that can improve prevention, early detection, and treatment of cervical cancer among women in Sub-Saharan Africa, and numerous approaches have so far been piloted. This paper presents an analysis of the potential of social media technologies to effectively support prevention, early detection, and treatment of cervical cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Appendix

Strategies	Papers (use of SMT in cervical cancer)	Supporting papers (use of SMT in other diseases)	Other literature
Prevention (creating awareness)	Ndakidemi (2014) [57] Kivuti et al. (2012) [58]	Lee et al. (2014) [62] Lee et al. (2016) [58] Schoenberger et al. (2014) [45] Jordaan et al. (2016) [19] Davis and Girvan (2014) [46]	Buga (1998) [21]; Ajayi and Adewole (1998) [20]; Walker et al. (2002) [22]; Wellensiek (2002) [23]; Anorlu et al. (2003) [24]; Anorlu (2008) [64]; Gichangi et al. (2003) [25]; Kidanto et al. (2002) [26]; Owuor et al. (2016) [11]; Kamara (2015) [38]; Neuhauser and Kreeps (2010) [39]; Waters (2011) [40]; McNab (2009) [37]; Olsen (2016) [1]; Karanja (2015) [60]
Early screening/diagnosis	Owuor et al. (2016) [11] Catarino et al. (2015) [42]	Charles et al. (2014) [61] Tuijn et al. (2011) [47] Tran et al. (2011) [48] Fruhauf et al. (2013) [49] Misrahi (2017) [65]	Mwanahamuntu et al. (2011) [27]; Owour et al. (2016) [1]; Anorlu (2008) [64]; Finocchario-Kessler et al. (2016) [29]; Denny et al. (2006) [30]; Louie (2009) [66]; Owuor et al. (2016) [59]
Treatment (adherence)	Karanja (2015) [60]	Ndakidemi et al. (2014) [57] Davey et al. (2012) [50] Downer et al. (2005) [51] Dey (2014) [52]	Olsen (2016) [1]; Anorlu (2008) [64]; Owuor et al. (2016) [11]; Karanja (2015) [60]