title: Who is getting Pap smears in urban Peru?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cervical cancer, although usually preventable by Pap smear screening, remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Peru. The percentages and characteristics of women in Peru who have or have not had a Pap smear have not been defined.
  
  
  METHODS
  In an urban community randomized trial of sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV prevention in Peru, 6712 randomly selected women between the ages of 18 and 29 from 20 cities were interviewed regarding having had cervical Pap smears.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among women sampled, only 30.9% had had a Pap smear. By multivariate analysis, the main predictors of having a Pap smear were having had sex, having had children, completion of secondary education and increasing age. Regional variations were also found: women from the highlands and rainforest were less likely to have had Pap smears than women from the coast.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A norm of seeking and receiving Pap smears has not been established among sexually active young Peruvian women. To improve Pap smear coverage in Peru, promotion efforts should target underserved women and regions with less coverage.
authors.affiliation: International Health and Development Department, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA. vpazsold@tulane.edu
authors.forename: Valerie A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Paz Soldan
authors.forename: Frank H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Cesar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carcamo
authors.forename: King K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Geoff P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Garnett
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010568:Peru; D014505:Urban Population; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000517:prevention & control