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Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer... 2013The Pap smear has an important value in the early diagnosis of cervical cancer, a serious problem in womens health. This study aimed to determine the status of Turkish...
BACKGROUND
The Pap smear has an important value in the early diagnosis of cervical cancer, a serious problem in womens health. This study aimed to determine the status of Turkish women regarding participation in Pap smear testing and affecting factors.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This descriptive study was conducted on married women between 18-61 years of age selected from those who applied to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Polyclinic of Ataturk University in Erzurum between June-August 2010 for any reason. Data were collected using a questionnaire determining socio-demographic features and analyzed by descriptive statistics (mean, Sd, range, frequency, percentage) and Chi-square test. A level of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
Sixty six of the 301 women (21.9%) indicated that they heard a Pap smear test and 16.6% of women had experienced a test. The number of women participating increased with age, duration of marriage, number of births, knowledge about the Pap smear and perception of risk for cervical cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
The importance of the Pap smear test needs to be explained to Turkish women by health staff, to increase awareness and participation in regular screening.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Attitude to Health; Early Detection of Cancer; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Papanicolaou Test; Patient Compliance; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Turkey; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Vaginal Smears; Women's Health; Young Adult
PubMed: 23621272
DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2013.14.2.981 -
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Jun 2016Women comprise nearly one-quarter of all people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the U.S. and 20 percent of incident annual cases. Though women overall... (Review)
Review
Women comprise nearly one-quarter of all people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the U.S. and 20 percent of incident annual cases. Though women overall are more likely than men to be diagnosed with HIV and engage in care, they are as unlikely to successfully achieve viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy, suggesting gender-based disparities that should be addressed by gender-responsive policies and programs. Using the socioecological model of health and syndemics theory, we comprehensively reviewed published literature to evaluate reasons for and ways to address gender differences in HIV risk and treatment. We discuss the biologic, sociocultural, interpersonal, and behavioral contexts of HIV risk that affect women, comprehensive healthcare for women with HIV that includes pregnancy planning or prevention, and policy implications.
Topics: Female; HIV Infections; Humans; Papanicolaou Test; Women's Health
PubMed: 27354845
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health Aug 2021African immigrant (AI) women remain burdened by cervical cancer, but the prevalence and correlates of Pap testing remains unclear in this population. (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
African immigrant (AI) women remain burdened by cervical cancer, but the prevalence and correlates of Pap testing remains unclear in this population.
OBJECTIVE
To review studies on the prevalence and determinants of Pap testing among AI women living in developed countries.
METHODS
PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus were searched for relevant articles that included African-born immigrant participants; were published in English; addressed the prevalence of Pap testing; conducted in a developed country; and identified correlates of Pap testing behavior. The Andersen Behavioral Model guided synthesis of the key findings.
RESULTS
Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of Pap testing ranged from 4.6% to 73.0%. Having a female provider and access to primary care facilitated Pap testing. Barriers to Pap testing included low income, male healthcare providers, and no history of gynecological exam.
CONCLUSIONS
Healthcare providers and social determinants-particularly income and healthcare access, play an important role in improving Pap testing among AI women. Larger qualitative and mixed methods studies are needed to explore other important determinants of Pap testing such as disease knowledge, self-efficacy, health literacy to reduce the burden of cervical cancer among AI women.
Topics: Developed Countries; Early Detection of Cancer; Emigrants and Immigrants; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Papanicolaou Test; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Vaginal Smears
PubMed: 33165711
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-020-01119-x -
BMC Women's Health Feb 2022Nigeria has a low uptake of cervical cancer screening and is one of the five countries that represent over half of the global burden of deaths from cervical cancer....
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria has a low uptake of cervical cancer screening and is one of the five countries that represent over half of the global burden of deaths from cervical cancer. Social marketing principles can be used to design and implement interventions to increase uptake of cervical cancer screening. This study assessed the effect of a social marketing intervention on the knowledge, attitude, and uptake of pap smear among women residing in an urban slum in Lagos State, Nigeria.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a quasi-experimental study. The intervention arm consisted of 140 women recruited from Ago-Egun Bariga community and the control arm consisted of 175 women recruited from Oto-Ilogbo extension community. Social marketing intervention was instituted in the intervention group. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 and Stata version 16.0. Between groups comparisons and within groups comparisons were done using bivariate analysis with Chisquare, Students t test and Paired t test as appropriate.
RESULTS
In both the intervention and control groups, the mean knowledge score of cervical cancer was low at baseline (0.0 ± 0.3 and 0.1 ± 0.9 respectively). In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in mean knowledge score to 15.1 ± 3.7, post-intervention (p < 0.001). In both groups, the mean attitude score of cervical cancer was low at baseline (27.1 ± 0.8 in the intervention group and 27.2 ± 1.4 in the control group). In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in mean attitude score to 36.5 ± 4.8, post-intervention (p < 0.001). In both the intervention and control groups, uptake of pap smear was low at baseline (0.0% and 0.6%, respectively). In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in uptake of pap smear to 84.3%, post-intervention (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant change in knowledge, attitude or uptake of pap smear in the control group, post-intervention.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated that social marketing intervention can be successful in improving knowledge, attitude, and also the uptake of pap smear, even in settings where these are abysmally low. It is recommended that social marketing intervention be employed as a strategy for improving cervical cancer screening among women residing in slums.
Topics: Early Detection of Cancer; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Mass Screening; Nigeria; Papanicolaou Test; Poverty Areas; Social Marketing; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Vaginal Smears
PubMed: 35164717
DOI: 10.1186/s12905-022-01620-5 -
Indian Journal of Cancer 2018Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer in women in the world and it is the second most common cancer in women 15-44 years of age. Strict implementation of...
BACKGROUND
Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer in women in the world and it is the second most common cancer in women 15-44 years of age. Strict implementation of screening programs has led to a large decrease in cervical cancer incidence and mortality in the developed countries. In contrast, cervical cancer remains largely uncontrolled in high-risk developing countries because of ineffective or no screening programs. Conventional Pap smear method has been the mainstay of most of the screening programs for many decades. However, this technique is not without limitations, and the sensitivity and specificity of cervical cytology are relatively low. To overcome the limitations of conventional Pap smear (CPS), liquid-based cytology (LBC) was introduced in 1990s as a better tool for processing cervical samples.
OBJECTIVES
This study was undertaken to compare CPS with liquid-based methods, to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of LBC over CPS in our setting, and also to evaluate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in our population.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was conducted in Gynecological Oncology Unit of Regional Cancer Center at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, Bihar. About 310 women were enrolled in this study and the sample was taken for both conventional cytology and LBC. The smears were studied in detail and were interpreted as per the Bethesda system of reporting Pap smears. The results were compared and analyzed statistically.
RESULTS
Unsatisfactory smears were more commonly reported by conventional method (7.1%) than with liquid-based method (1.61%), and this difference is statistically significant. There was no difference in the detection of epithelial cell abnormalities using both the methods. HPV DNA for high-risk oncogenic strains (16 and 18) was detected in 6.45% of women in this study.
CONCLUSION
LBC has been found to be more superior to conventional smears only with respect to lesser number of unsatisfactory smears, but considering the economic implications of LBC, conventional Pap is more feasible in our setting.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cytodiagnosis; Female; Humans; India; Mass Screening; Papanicolaou Test; Tertiary Care Centers; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Young Adult
PubMed: 30147099
DOI: 10.4103/ijc.IJC_352_17 -
Ciencia & Saude Coletiva Sep 2019This paper reviews the limiting factors and facilitators of access to Brazilian cervical cancer care public health services. This review employed bibliographic database... (Review)
Review
This paper reviews the limiting factors and facilitators of access to Brazilian cervical cancer care public health services. This review employed bibliographic database Medline (interface with the Virtual Health Library/BVS and PubMed) and Lilacs / SciELO portals. We sought publications for the period 2011-2016 based on the use of specific terms from the sources consulted, regarding "cervical neoplasms" and "access to health services". We found 704 papers initially, which were shortlisted to 31 following adopted criteria, which were further reduced to 19 papers to make up the final selection. Access facilitating aspects such as wide coverage of the Pap smear test and coverage of biopsies equivalent to the number of altered prevention tests were mentioned. However, access limiting aspects such as inadequate Pap smear's periodicity, difficulties in scheduling appointments and exams, high rate of advanced staging and delays in diagnosis and treatment onset were also reported.
Topics: Biopsy; Brazil; Early Detection of Cancer; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Papanicolaou Test; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Vaginal Smears
PubMed: 31508761
DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232018249.32592017 -
The Israel Medical Association Journal... May 2014The "see and treat" approach, proceeding without a biopsy directly to uterine cervix conization in women diagnosed with high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
BACKGROUND
The "see and treat" approach, proceeding without a biopsy directly to uterine cervix conization in women diagnosed with high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL) on Pap smear, shortens the treatment duration, lessens patient anxiety, and reduces health care costs.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the level of diagnostic accuracy and the over-treatment rate in the "see and treat" versus conventional management of women diagnosed with HGSIL.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed all women with HGSIL who had undergone the "see and treat" approach during 2001-2011 at Soroka University Medical Center. Similar cohorts, who were managed conventionally with a cervical biopsy prior to the conization, served as a comparison group.
RESULTS
The study population consisted of 403 women: 72 (18%) had undergone the "see and treat" approach and 331 (82%) conventional management. The false positive rate was 11% for the "see and treat" group, compared to 6% for the conventional management group (P = 0.162). Similarly, no statistically significant difference was observed when comparing the positive predictive value (PPV) of high grade dysplasia diagnosed on Pap smear (PPV 88.9%) versus cervical biopsy (PPV 93.8%) (P = 0.204). Moreover, both the false positive rate and PPV remained similar in subgroups of patients, according to age, menopausal status, number of births, and colposcopy findings.
CONCLUSIONS
The accuracy level of HGSIL diagnosis on Pap smear is similar to that of high grade dysplasia on a cervical biopsy. We therefore recommend referring patients with HGSIL directly to conization. Skipping the biopsy step was not associated with significant over-treatment or other adverse effects.
Topics: Adult; Biopsy; Cervix Uteri; Conization; Cost Savings; Diagnostic Errors; Female; Health Services Misuse; Humans; Israel; Papanicolaou Test; Patient Care Management; Predictive Value of Tests; Retrospective Studies; Time-to-Treatment; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Vaginal Smears; Uterine Cervical Dysplasia
PubMed: 24979836
DOI: No ID Found -
BMC Public Health Apr 2024Réunion Island is a French overseas territory located in the southern Indian Ocean, with a challenging socioeconomic and multicultural context. Compared to mainland...
BACKGROUND
Réunion Island is a French overseas territory located in the southern Indian Ocean, with a challenging socioeconomic and multicultural context. Compared to mainland France, Réunion has an overincidence and overmortality of cervical cancer. In order to investigate these two issues, it is important to evaluate the barriers and potential levers to Pap smear screening among female inhabitants of the island. We aimed to identify the specific socio-demographic factors, cultural factors, and living conditions associated with Pap smear screening in Réunion, with a view to increasing uptake.
METHODS
We conducted a Knowledge Attitude Behavior and Practices (KABP) survey on cervical cancer screening practices among women aged between 25 and 65 years old living in Réunion Island, selected using random digit dialing sampling. Data were collected using Computer Assistant Telephone Interviews. Weighted chi-squared tests and Student's t-tests were used to compare women who had up-to-date Pap smear screening with women who did not. Weighted logistic models were used to identify the factors associated with not having up-to-date screening.
RESULTS
A total of 1000 women were included in the study. Of these, 88.1% had a Pap smear test during the previous three years. Factors independently associated with not being up to date were as follows: aged over 55 (AOR 2.3 [1.2-4.3]), no children (AOR 2.5 [1.4-4.3]), having free universal health coverage (AOR 1.7 [1.1-2.7]), an income per unit consumption lower than 1500€ per month (AOR 2.0 [1.1-3.7]), low health literacy (AOR 2.7 [1.7-4.1]), not consulting a general practitioner in the prior 12 months (AOR 3.6 [2.0-6.5]), and a BMI > 30 (AOR 2.6 [1.5-4.4]).
CONCLUSIONS
This is the first large-scale survey focusing on recommended Pap smear screening uptake in Réunion Island. Although self-reported screening incidence was higher than in mainland France, national screening policies must take into account the island's diverse social and cultural characteristics (e.g., an ageing population, low health literacy), while implementing actions to fight against poverty and increase general access to healthcare.
Topics: Humans; Female; Papanicolaou Test; Middle Aged; Adult; Reunion; Aged; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Socioeconomic Factors; Early Detection of Cancer; France; Vaginal Smears; Cultural Characteristics
PubMed: 38654197
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18633-4 -
Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia =... 2016In Brazil, in 2012, 6.4% of the prison population was made up of women. The aim of the study was to verify the coverage of the Pap smear according to sociodemographic...
In Brazil, in 2012, 6.4% of the prison population was made up of women. The aim of the study was to verify the coverage of the Pap smear according to sociodemographic characteristics and health problems reported among incarcerated women. Cross-sectional study conducted from August 2012 to July 2013, considering the records of 702 inmates aged between 25 and 64 years and the duration of imprisonment (not less than 12 months). The average age of the women surveyed was 34.7 years. The performance of cervical cytology was reported by 26.3% of inmates. There were no difference in prevalence according to selected variables. The containment condition enables the implementation of preventive measures such as offering and realization of Pap smear for most inmates. The observed results are worrying and differ significantly from those presented in the national diagnosis on the health of incarcerated women.
Topics: Adult; Brazil; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Papanicolaou Test; Prisoners
PubMed: 27849280
DOI: 10.1590/1980-5497201600030017 -
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer... Dec 2018Background: Knowledge of cervical cancer and performance of Pap smear testing are influenced by several sociodemographic factors. This study aimed to describe the effect...
Background: Knowledge of cervical cancer and performance of Pap smear testing are influenced by several sociodemographic factors. This study aimed to describe the effect of relevant variables on knowledge and compliance with guidelines in Oman. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, participants were divided into three groups: patients who attended Outpatient Gynecology Department, female medical staff and university graduate students. Results: There were 204 outpatients, 133 staff, and 157 students. Adequate knowledge among was seen in 38.7%, 35.3%, and 7.6%, respectively. Knowledge of cervical cancer and Pap smear was significantly lower among outpatients with secondary education, while those with high level of income were more likely to have adequate cancer knowledge. Uptake of Pap smear was significantly greater among outpatients aged ≥ 30 years, with high income and a positive history of cancer. Conclusion: Culturally tailored interventions that focus on improving cancer risk knowledge are needed to maximize screening uptake for cervical cancer.
Topics: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Knowledge; Mass Screening; Oman; Papanicolaou Test; Patient Compliance; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Vaginal Smears; Young Adult
PubMed: 30583342
DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2018.19.12.3367