title: Attitudes toward cervical cancer screening among women receiving human papillomavirus vaccination in a university-hospital-based community: interim 2-year follow-up results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the status of cervical cancer screening among women in a university hospital-based community who received catch-up human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations as a basic element of our community-based cervical cancer prevention advocacy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 173 women working or studying in the community at their first HPV vaccination in 2010, at the third vaccination, and 2 years later. Their demographics and attitudes toward the Pap test were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age of the participants was 27.5 years and 88.2% were sexually active. Before the first vaccination, 38.5% (57/148) of the screening targets had never had a Pap test. Among the women who completed the third vaccination, Pap test experiences within the recent 2 years increased from 45.3% (63/139) at the first vaccination to 71.2% (99/137) at the third vaccination, and 67.5% (54/80) 2 years later. In 45.3% of the screening targets who had never had a Pap test at the time of their first HPV vaccination, their first Pap test was followed by their vaccination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Having biennial Pap tests in accordance with the Japanese national cancer screening guideline was shown to be difficult even for the women in the medical community; however, education about the Pap test and the efficacy of HPV vaccination in providing opportunistic screening encouraged them to have their first or suspended Pap test. Our interim data suggest the need for urgently changing the cervical cancer prevention strategy for young adult women who are excluded from the national HPV vaccine program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yokohama City University Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Etsuko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miyagi
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sukegawa
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Motoki
authors.forename: Tetsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Yasuyo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Mikiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asai-Sato
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Numazaki
authors.forename: Shunsaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mizushima
authors.forename: Fumiki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hirahara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines
keywords: HPV vaccines; Papanicolaou smear; cervical cancer; prevention and control; public advocacy