Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 13, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13010053
Keywords
cervical cancer; screening; health promotion; intervention; risk; prevention; disease control; health behavior
Funding
- Minority Health International Research Training Program (MHIRT), from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA [T37-MD001448]
- Cancer Research Experiences for Students Training Program, from NIH [5R25CA76023]
- Western Regional Health Authority, Ministry of Health, Jamaica
- Sparkman Center for Global Health
- Ireland Endowment from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Graduate School
- NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE [R25CA076023] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [T37MD001448] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Despite declines in cervical cancer mortality in developed countries, cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates remain high in Jamaica due to low levels of screening. Effective interventions are needed to decrease barriers to preventive behaviors and increase adoption of behaviors and services to improve prospects of survival. We enrolled 225 women attending health facilities in an intervention consisting of a pre-test, educational presentation and post-test. The questionnaires assessed attitudes, knowledge, risk factors, and symptoms of cervical cancer among women. Changes in knowledge and intention to screen were assessed using paired t-tests and tests for correlated proportions. Participants were followed approximately six months post-intervention to determine cervical cancer screening rates. We found statistically significant increases from pre-test to post-test in the percentage of questions correctly answered and in participants' intention to screen for cervical cancer. The greatest improvements were observed in responses to questions on knowledge, symptoms and prevention, with some items increasing up to 62% from pre-test to post-test. Of the 123 women reached for follow-up, 50 (40.7%) screened for cervical cancer. This theory-based education intervention significantly increased knowledge of and intention to screen for cervical cancer, and may be replicated in similar settings to promote awareness and increase screening rates.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available