Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) breast and cervical cancer screening demographic and health surveys (DHS) data

Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis has recently started to gain traction; therefore, literature exploring the topic is of utmost importance. The synthesis of IPD across numerous surveys enhances the reliability of the summary estimates, as they cover a larger scope of data. By focusing on screening uptake in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the research addresses critical gaps in the existing literature and offers key contributions. These include valuable insights into the specific factors affecting screening uptake, which can help policymakers and other stakeholders interested in increasing screening rates. The methods were empirically compared in synthesizing the effect of education and type of residence on cancer screening uptake in sub-Saharan Africa using data on 127 317 women aged between 15 and 49 years in eleven Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) across ten sub-Saharan countries from surveys obtained between 2009 and 2022.