Acceptance of pap smear screening for cervical cancer among married women in urban area of Mandalay, Myanmar

Abstract

Utilization of Pap smear screening for cervical cancer is an effective measure to reduce morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the proportion and the factors associated with the acceptance of Pap smear screening for cervical cancer among the married women aged 30 to 65 years old in the urban area of Mandalay, Myanmar, by applying the third phase of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model. Simple random sampling was used to select a total of 233 respondents. They were face-to-face interviewed using a structured questionnaire to collect the data from 1st April to 30th April, 2020. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were employed to assess the associations. The proportion of acceptance of Pap smear screening for the cervical cancer among the married women in previous three years was 15.9% and it was significantly associated with education, occupation, family income, family history of cervical cancer, knowledge, attitude, social support, source of information from doctors, husband, friends, posters, internet and physician and patient interaction at p-value < 0.05. The findings suggested that the implementation of the health education programs which targeted both women and their partners to improve knowledge and attitude along with a good social support and a positive physician and patient interaction will lead to increasing acceptance of Pap smear screening for the cervical. Suggestions for further researches 1. As it was a quantitative study, further analytical studies which include a qualitative component should be conducted to uncover detailed information related to the acceptance of cervical cancer screening. 2. Further studies might be conducted to assess the impact of the health education intervention on women's knowledge, attitude and acceptance of cervical cancer screening service.