Attitudes to Papanicolaou smears

Abstract

Preventive health behavior has been defined as behavior aimed at the prevention or detection of disease in an asymptomatic state. When cervical cancer is discovered and treated in the premalignant stage, the cure rate is 95% or higher. The success of the screening program for cervical cancer depends at least partially on women's acceptance of and compliance with the service. Compliance is related to women's underlying motivation and attitudes to cervical cancer and health and illness in general. The following paper provides an overview of the literature and examines who participates in cervical screening, the participant's feelings about the test and the place of testing, who are unlikely to participate and the reasons for this noncompliance. It is hoped that this overview will indicate possible ways of improving women's acceptance of this screening, whilst identifying negative attitudes and experiences which impede participation.