Background and Objective:A Pap smear test is one of the most effective procedures utilized for cervi cal cancer (CC) screening purposes. Nevertheless, many women do not like to do such a test. The present study aimed to monitor the impact of an educational intervention developed based on the expanded Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) on CC screening behavior. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experiment was conducted on 200 women referred to Karaj health centers, Iran. The participants were randomized into experimental and control groups. The data was collected by a Standardized questionnaire including demographic characteristics, the constructs of the PMT, and a self-administered Emotional Social-Support questionnaire (ESS). They filled the questionnaire before, after, and at 6-months follow-up. Eight educational sessions based on the model were held for the experimental group via lecture, group discussions and role play. The data were analyzed by SPSS (Ver. 24) and repeated measures ANOVA and Chi-square test. Results: In the pre-intervention and post-intervention stages, the mean score of perceived susceptibility from 8.07±3.28 to 11.83±1.99, p erceived severity from 12.64±3.46 to 15.19± 2.85, response efficacy from 12.66±5.37 to 16.06±3.6, selfefficacy from 25.94±5.38 to 29.68±4.68, emotional social support from 27.01±7.16 to 31.46±5.76 and intention from 11.01±2.14 to 13.42±1.65 increased and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The mean score of fear from 10.37±2.29 to 5.54±2.76 and response cost from 6.62±2.13 to 3.97 ±1.69 decreased and that was statistically significant (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed in the control group. Besides, the Pap smear test was increased after the educational intervention in the post-test and follow-up in the experimental group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the findings, PMT and ESS can be used as a framework for designing educational programs to promote CC screening behavior.
Background and aims: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers of the female reproductive system. Despite the importance of cervical cancer screening in early detection, the uptake of screening is poor. The present study aimed to predict the factors that influence the cervical cancer screening behavior of Iranian women visiting health centers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 661 women of reproductive age referred to health centers in Karaj, Iran, in 2021, who were selected by convenience sampling. Data collection was performed with a multi-sectional questionnaire designed to collect information about demographic characteristics and constructs of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and emotional support. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 24.0, and AMOS version 24. Results: The mean age of the participants was 38.2±13.77. Most of the participants had a high school diploma and a moderate socioeconomic status. The results showed the direct effect of intention on behavior (β=0.54) and the direct effect of fear on intention (β=-0.66). Perceived self-efficacy had the greatest indirect effect on behavior through intention (β=0.34). All protection motivation constructs except response cost (β=0.06) showed a significant effect on cervical cancer screening behavior. Model fit indices showed the good capability of the extended protection motivation model to predict cervical cancer screening behavior. Conclusion: Perceived self-efficacy is the strongest predictor of cervical cancer screening behavior, and emotional support affects this behavior through self-efficacy and intention. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to these factors when designing and planning educational interventions for improving cervical cancer screening behavior.
Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the treatable forms of cancer which can be prevented in terms of its long precancerous conditions and good screening programs. Aim: Using directed content analysis, the present study, as qualitative research, aimed to investigate married women’s perspectives on screening for CC based on the protection motivation theory (PMT). Methods: To this end, a total number of 20 married women, considering maximum variation in sampling in terms of age and level of education, were interviewed. Therefore, an in-depth semi-structured interview was used for data collection until saturation was reached. As well, the PMT was applied as the main framework to develop the interview items. Results: Eight categories, namely, intention, fear, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy, response cost, and social support, were identified based on data classification. The majority of the participants intended to have a Pap smear. Moreover, they believed that if women knew more about screening for cervical cancer, they would definitely do so. Most of participants 60% had a high level of perceived susceptibility and 100% of them had self-efficacy related to doing a Pap smear. Almost all the interviewees acknowledged the effectiveness of a Pap smear and its consequences but 80% of the participants reported that they could not follow regular tests due to response cost despite their self-efficacy and knowledge about the effectiveness and the benefits of this type of screening. All the study participants also put more emphasis on the role of social support to push them to get a Pap smear. Conclusion: Response cost and social support should be considered factors encouraging married women to do a Pap smear during screening programs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.