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VOL. 12, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Understanding the gap between availability and utilization: A quantitative analysis of Cervical Cancer screening behavior in Kolkata’s informal settlements
Authors
Sukanya Biwas
Abstract
Despite the availability of free cervical
cancer screening services in urban India, participation among marginalized
women remains extremely low. This study examines the gap between the
availability of preventive services and their actual community-level
utilization in Kolkata’s informal settlements, where dense medical
infrastructure coexists with low participation in preventive health services.
Using primary data from a cross-sectional house-to-house survey of 155 women
aged 25 – 55, this study employs a Probit regression model to identify the
socio-economic and institutional determinants of screening behavior. The
findings reveal that the most significant barrier to screening is not a lack of
awareness or clinical proximity, but the indirect economic cost of care –
specifically, the loss of daily wages incurred due to time spent traveling to,
waiting at, and undergoing screening at health facilities. Women who face this
opportunity cost are significantly less likely to seek preventive care, even
when services are geographically accessible and free of charge. In contrast,
contact with frontline health workers and a woman’s autonomy in making personal
health decisions substantially increase the likelihood of screening uptake,
while higher health literacy plays a supportive but insufficient role on its
own. These results demonstrate that clinical proximity and awareness do not
guarantee utilization in informal urban contexts, where immediate economic
survival constrains preventive behavior. This study highlights the need for
flexible, community-responsive screening models – such as mobile or after-hours
services – that reduce income loss and better align public health delivery with
the realities of women engaged in informal labor.
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Pages:197-199
How to cite this article:
Sukanya Biwas "Understanding the gap between availability and utilization: A quantitative analysis of Cervical Cancer screening behavior in Kolkata’s informal settlements". International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research, Vol 12, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 197-199
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