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Effect of girls’ education on cancer awareness and screening in a natural experiment in Lesotho

Breast and cervical cancers are important causes of disability and premature death among women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Previous research has linked girls’ education to cancer service access. Here, we examine the causal effect of girls’ educational attainment on cancer screening practices by means of...

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Main Authors: Liao, Janny (Author) , Moshoeshoe, Ramaele (Author) , Holmes, Michelle D. (Author) , Subramanian, S. V. (Author) , De Neve, Jan-Walter (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 20 April 2025
In: Nature Communications
Year: 2025, Volume: 16, Pages: 1-9
ISSN:2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-58875-3
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58875-3
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58875-3
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Author Notes:Janny Liao, Ramaele Moshoeshoe, Michelle D. Holmes, S.V. Subramanian & Jan-Walter De Neve
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Summary:Breast and cervical cancers are important causes of disability and premature death among women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Previous research has linked girls’ education to cancer service access. Here, we examine the causal effect of girls’ educational attainment on cancer screening practices by means of a natural experiment in Lesotho. In particular, we exploit variation in educational attainment among women that was introduced by an educational policy (a school-entry age cut-off). Data on awareness towards breast cancer, knowledge of Pap smear, breast self-exam, breast clinical exam, and having received a Pap smear is extracted from the Lesotho Demographic and Health Surveys 2009-10 and 2014 (N = 7971). Each additional year of schooling caused by the education policy increases awareness of breast cancer by 4.7 percentage points (p = 0.014, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.0, 8.5), awareness of Pap smear by 5.9 percentage points (p = 0.001, 95% CI: 2.3, 9.5), and engagement in Pap smear by 3.5 percentage points (p = 0.004, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.8). We found no statistically significant effects on breast self-exam and breast clinical exam.
Item Description:Online veröffentlicht: 20. April 2025
Gesehen am 06.10.2025
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-58875-3

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