title: Factors associated with cervical cancer screening amongst women of reproductive age from Yucatan, Mexico.
abstract: This study aimed to analyse the participation of women of reproductive age in a cancer screening program, and survey reasons for non-screening in a region from Mexico with high cervical cancer mortality. A total of 281 obstetric patients from a previous HPV study in a social security hospital during 2008-2009 were included. Reasons for not participating in the screening were directly asked. HPV positive patients were invited to participate in an informative workshop, and they filled in a knowledge questionnaire. The women ranged in age from 14-47 years; 123 (43.8%) had never participated in screening, of which 97 (78.9%) had their first sexual intercourse 2 to 10 years ago, resulting in 25% HPV positive. Screening history was strongly associated with 2 or more gestations (OR= 10.07, p=0.00) and older age (OR=6.69 p=0.00). When 197 women were contacted and interviewed, reasons referred for non-screening were ignorance, lack of interest or time, recent sexual onset, shame and fear. More than 50% of the workshop participants showed knowledge of HPV, while 38.9% and 25% knew about Pap smear and cervical cancer. A high percentage of women of reproductive age have never had a Pap smear. Promoting the screening program in medical facilities seems to be important in this population. New approaches to inform vulnerable individuals on the benefits of screening need to be implemented, especially for young women.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Regionales, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan (UADY), Yucatan, Mexico. laura.conde@uady.mx
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Conde-Ferraez
authors.forename: Rosa Etelvina
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Suarez Allen
authors.forename: Jorge Ramiro
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Carrillo Martinez
authors.forename: Guadalupe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ayora-Talavera
authors.forename: Maria Del Refugio
authors.initials: Mdel R
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Losa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult