Cervical cancer screening practices among university women.
OBJECTIVE
To assess predictors of young women's intentions to be screened for cervical cancer.


METHODS
A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).


METHODS
A total of 904 young women (mean age=20.7 years; SD=1.77) participated in an online cervical cancer screening survey.


METHODS
A web-based survey (WebCT) was used to survey young women, 25 years of age or less, attending a university in eastern Canada. Descriptive, correlational, and logistic regression statistics were calculated.


RESULTS
Findings indicated that social norms (perceptions about whether or not people close to them think Pap screening is important) and perceived behavioral control (perceptions about personal resources or barriers to receiving a Pap test) were significantly related to young women's intentions to be screened.


CONCLUSIONS
Strategies to promote cervical cancer screening among young university women need to recognize the impact of social norms and perceived barriers on Pap screening intentions in this population.
Duffett-Leger
Linda A
LA
Faculty of Nursing, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada. lduffett@unb.ca
Letourneau
Nicole L
NL
Croll
James C
JC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007389:Internal-External Control; D016015:Logistic Models; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009509:New Brunswick; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012945:Social Values; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult