Impact
Research & Evidence
Every claim Stepin makes should be traceable to a source. These are ours — and these are the questions we intend to answer next.
The evidence base
The numbers Stepin’s strategy is built on.
Every figure here is sourced, dated and linked. If a claim on this website has no source, it should not be there — please tell us.
With 17,944 deaths and a five-year prevalence of 63,764 people living with cancer.
GLOBOCAN 2022 · IARC / WHO Ghana fact sheet
Based on 9,489 women surveyed. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers there is.
Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 2022 · published analysis, 2025
More than three quarters of women in this age group have never had a clinical breast examination.
Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 2022 · published analysis, 2025
91 of 158 patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, with an average symptom duration of ten months before presentation.
Clegg-Lamptey & Hodasi, Ghana Medical Journal · PubMed
With 1,815 deaths. Ghana’s age-standardised cervical cancer incidence (27.4) and mortality (17.8) per 100,000 are roughly twice the global average.
GLOBOCAN 2022 · IARC / WHO
A virus that can be vaccinated against, with precancerous changes that can be found and treated years before cancer develops.
World Health Organization, 2024 · Cervical cancer fact sheet
Stepin research
What we intend to find out.
Stepin’s own research programme begins during the 2027 Pilot & Prove year, in collaboration with academic partners. These are the questions we think are worth answering, and that our position in communities lets us answer.
If you are a researcher or institution interested in collaborating, we would like to hear from you.
Does community education change screening behaviour?
Not stated intention — actual attendance. Measured by follow-up rather than by exit survey.
Does patient navigation reduce drop-out?
The core question of the 2027 pilot: what proportion of supported referrals result in an actual clinical assessment?
What are the real barriers, ranked?
Cost, distance, fear, permission, embarrassment, disbelief. Which ones actually stop women, in which communities?
Which myths persist, and which shift?
Measuring specific beliefs before and after education, rather than general awareness.
Are Community Champions as effective as staff?
The answer determines whether the model can scale affordably or not.
Does stage at presentation change over time?
The hardest and most important measure, requiring data-sharing agreements with clinical partners over several years.
Published research from Stepin
No publications yet.
Stepin’s research programme begins in 2027. Papers, conference abstracts and datasets will be listed here as they are published, with full citations and links.