It is unlikely that the high cervical cancer rate in women from the former Yugoslavia is a result of under-screening, lifestyle stress, or chemicals. Smoking may well contribute to the cancer rate, however the most likely explanation is that cancers not previously detected in Yugoslavia are now being found, together with cervical abnormalities, within the systematic two yearly screening programme of PapScreen Victoria, in Australia.
A three-phase cross-sectional face-to-face interview study (n= 1571) was conducted to investigate the impact of the PapScreen Victoria media campaign conducted in English, and the extent to which a media campaign can influence women's perceived self-efficacy associated with having a Pap test. In total, 1571 women aged between 25 and 69 years were interviewed about prompted and unprompted recall of media messages, intention to have a Pap test and perceived self-efficacy associated with having Pap tests, and barriers to cervical screening. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses revealed that women's awareness of Pap testing messages and priority of this health issue was greater at the first follow-up, and was maintained at the second. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that it was perceived as more difficult to choose a practitioner and ring for results at the first follow-up, and perceived self-efficacy was lower then than at baseline. Results suggest that the cognitive processes at work are more complex than previously thought.
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