[Perception of the causes of cancer and its prevention in women of Girona].
BACKGROUND
To analyze the perception of causes and prevention of cancer among women, from Girona, Spain, as well as to assess the knowledge of initial symptoms and participation in cancer screening activities.


METHODS
Crossectional survey with the following items: cancer risk factors, initial symptoms, perceived susceptibility, knowledge and practice of screening, beliefs regarding prevention and treatment of cancer, intention to attend screening tests and socio-demographic variables. A stratified random sample of 408 women aged 40 to 70 from two counties in Girona, Spain was selected.


RESULTS
More than 80% of women identified tobacco, radioactivity and other environmental factors as causes of cancer, being the alcohol identified by 70% of women. It was clearly observed that a high level of these women (97.5%) considered a lump in the breast as an initial symptom of cancer, whereas only a 6.6% thought it was always due to cancer. With regard to cancer screening, 21.9% of women have ever practiced a mammography, 28.5% a cervical citology with Papanicolaou staining and 53.2% self-breast examinations. All these screening activities were inversely associated to age (p < 0.05) and directly to educational level (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
A high knowledge regarding the causes of cancer with the exception of diet was observed in women from Girona, Spain. Knowledge and participation in screening activities is still low in practice of population cancer screening programmes.
Izquierdo
A
A
Servei d'Oncologia, Hospital de Santa Caterina, Girona.
Viladiu
P
P
Borràs
J M
JM
Moreno
V
V
Catalán
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain; D014626:Vaginal Smears
La percepción de las causas del cáncer y de su prevención en las mujeres de Girona.