title: Errors in reporting cervical screening among public health clinic patients.
abstract: This study examines women's knowledge of whether or not they had a cervical smear as part of their examination in a public health clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. Usable interviews were completed with a cluster sample of 318 women. Approximately 56% of the women were not able to correctly report if they had a cervical smear; and 90% of the erroneous responses consisted of reporting a cervical smear when none actually was done. Young women and single women were more likely to report incorrectly. Overall, the results suggest considerable error in overreporting cervical screening in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Michielutte
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Dignan
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bahnson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wooten
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Hale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008393:Marriage; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D044465:White People