title: The coverage of cervical cancer screening in Khon Kaen, northeast Thailand.
abstract: Cervical cancer is a common cancer in Thai women and one of the only cancers that can be readily cured if early detection is successful. The Pap smear is an accepted as an appropriate means for cervical cancer screening at present. However, there are still some management problems with early detection programmes. Since data showing how many women have been screened by Pap smear are limited in Thailand, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining coverage in a defined population in the sample area, Thakaserm sub- district in Nampong district, Khon Kaen province, Thailand. The investigation was carried out during June-August 2000 to collect information on history of screening for cervical cancer using questionnaires. All women aged 20 and above were asked to answer the set of questionnaires a total of 1199 women responded. There were 66.9% that reported having received a Pap smear test for screening for cervical cancer at least once. However, there were 33.1 % that had never undergone a Pap smear in their life. It is important to find a strategy to increase the coverage of cervical cancer screening programme for this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors.forename: Onanong
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kritpetcharat
authors.forename: Krittika
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suwanrungruang
authors.forename: Supannee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sriamporn
authors.forename: Supot
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kamsa-Ard
authors.forename: Panutas
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kritpetcharat
authors.forename: Prasit
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pengsaa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears