Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the Pap test among women in northeastern Brazil

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The Papanicolaou (Pap) test has been shown to be effective in preventing cervical cancer. However, both the national and international literature shows that Pap testing has not reached the level of coverage desired. The objective of this study was to assess women's knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the Pap test and to investigate whether there are any associations between these three factors and the women's sociodemographic characteristics. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in Floriano, Piauí. METHODS : The study was conducted among 493 women between November 2009 and December 2010. A questionnaire with precoded questions was sed, and the responses were analyzed in terms of appropriateness in relation to the Pap test. RESULTS : The degrees of adequacy of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the Pap test were 36.7%, 67.2% and 69.6%, respectively. Among the main barriers against testing, absence of symptoms and a sense of embarrassment were the most notable. CONCLUSIONS: Women who visit doctors periodically had the most appropriate practices regarding the Pap test, but their knowledge of the procedure was poor. This suggests that these women were not receiving adequate information about the benefits of periodic testing.

研究背景与目的：巴氏涂片（Papanicolaou test，Pap test）已被证实可有效预防宫颈癌。然而，国内外文献均显示，巴氏涂片检测尚未达到预期覆盖水平。本研究旨在评估女性对巴氏涂片检测的认知、态度与行为，并探究这三类因素与女性社会人口学特征之间是否存在关联。
研究设计与实施场景：本研究为在皮奥伊州弗洛里亚努市开展的横断面描述性研究。
研究方法：本研究于2009年11月至2010年12月期间，纳入493名女性作为研究对象。采用包含预先编码问题的调查问卷，针对与巴氏涂片检测相关的应答合理性进行分析。
研究结果：女性对巴氏涂片检测的认知、态度与行为的恰当程度分别为36.7%、67.2%与69.6%。在阻碍接受巴氏涂片检测的主要因素中，无相关症状与羞耻感最为突出。
研究结论：定期就医的女性在巴氏涂片检测相关行为上表现最为恰当，但她们对该检测操作的认知却较为匮乏。这表明此类女性未获得关于定期检测益处的充分信息。