title: Context of barriers to Pap testing in Korean women.
abstract: Because efforts to increase the Papanicolaou (Pap) test rate have not been effective in Korea, there is an urgent need to identify the underlying context of the barriers to Pap testing. Twenty-three women aged 27-37 years were organized into four focus groups for a qualitative analysis of their attitudes and feelings about the Pap test. Five contextual themes of barriers were identified under the categories of "misconceptions attributable to women's experiences of Pap testing" and "issues related to the health care system." Educational and clinical implications in regard to women, health care professionals, and the health service environment were discussed to increase the Pap test rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Kangwon-do 220-701, South Korea. somi@wonju.yonsei.ac.kr
authors.forename: SoMi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: SoonBok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: ChaeWeon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006176:Gynecology / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007723:Korea; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009341:Negativism; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012945:Social Values; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*