Conhecimentos, atitudes e prática do exame de Papanicolaou entre mulheres argentinas

Abstract

ObjectivesTo evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding the Papanicolaou test in an Argentinean community. Methods Two hundred women were interviewed at their homes in Puerto Leoni, Misiones, Argentina. Women were selected by simple random sampling. Answers were described in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and practice, ant their respective adequacies with respect to the Papanicolaou test, as previously defined. Adequacy was compared between the categories of the control variables by χ 2 test with a 5% significance level. Results Knowledge and practice of the Papanicolaou test were adequate in 49.5% and 30.5% of subjects, respectively, although the attitude towards the test was considered adequate in 80.5% of subjects. Another important finding was that women reported as the main reason for not undergoing the test the lack of a request by a physician or healthcare professional. ConclusionsOur results show a need for increasing the information provided to the public, especially by healthcare services and professionals, thus generating knowledge among the population of the advantages and benefits of Papanicolaou testing.

Conhecimentos, atitudes e prática do exame de Papanicolaou por mulheres, Nordeste do Brasil

“…This finding is similar to that reported among Argentinean women 6 associated to schooling; among Brazilian women 16 associated to schooling and marital status; and associated to schooling and family income. 1 These women are more aware of the advantages and benefits of periodical testing, and have better access to information and health services.…”

“…This rate is similar to that reported among South African women 12 (60.6%) but it is greater than that reported among Brazilian women 16 (45.6%) and lower than that reported in Argentinean women 6 (80.5%). Among those showing adequate attitudes, 66.9% considered periodical testing necessary to prevent UCC and 33.1% to prevent cancer in general.…”

“…For the analysis of data about knowledge, attitudes and practices of women related to Pap test, there were adopted the definitions as described by Gamarra et al 6 as follows:…”

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

“…This rate was similar to those reported for women in São José de Mipibu (63.3%) 19 and South Africa (60.6%), 23 but it was lower than the rate reported for Argentinean women (80.5%) 24 and higher than the rate observed for women in the The proportion of the women with an appropriate attitude towards the test was significantly higher among those who were already sexually active and married or living in a stable relationship, and among those who consulted a gynecologist during the year prior to the survey. The rates of appropriate attitudes increased proportionally with age, level of education and number of children.…”

“…24 The primary reasons given by women for not undergoing the test included absence of symptoms and being too embarrassed to undergo the test. These barriers were similar to those reported in other studies conducted in Brazil 16,19,25 and Argentina.…”