The Outcome of a Self-Efficacy Enhancement Program for Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in Phrasaeng District, Suratthani Province, Thailand

Understanding of Cervical Screening Adoption among Female University Students Based on the Precaution Adoption Process Model and Health-Belief Model

This study aimed to identify the decisional stages for cervical screening and corresponding cognitive factors in female university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Korean female university students aged 20-29 years through an online survey. The main outcome was the decisional stage of cervical screening adoption using the precaution adoption process model. The stages were classified into pre-adoption (the unawareness, unengaged, and undecided stages), adoption (the decided to act and acting stages), and refusal (the decided not to act stage). The cognitive factors in each stage were analyzed using the key concepts of the health-belief model. Cervical screening was defined as a clinical Papanicolaou (Pap) smear performed by a physician in a clinic. The final analysis included 1024 students. Approximately 89.0%, 1.0%, and 10.2% were classified as the pre-adoption, refusal, and adoption stages, respectively. Compared to the pre-adoption stage group, the adoption stage group was more likely to be older and have higher self-efficacy and knowledge. Most participants belonged to the pre-adoption stage-those unaware of cervical screening. Furthermore, most had a low level of knowledge and perception of cervical cancer and its screening. Therefore, our study highlighted the need for education to increase awareness and knowledge of cervical screening in this population.

Validity of a questionnaire on self-efficacy for Pap test adherence screening

Introduction

Self-efficacy has been related to different health preventive behaviors, included adherence to the Papanicolaou test—also called Pap smear or Pap test. The aim of this study is to test construct and criterion validity and reliability of a questionnaire on self-efficacy and the Pap test in Chilean women.

Method

This study was carried out on a sample of 969 women of ages from 25 to 64, who are users of the public health care system in Santiago, Chile. The validity of the Self-Efficacy Scale for the Pap Smear Screening Participation (SES-PSSP) questionnaire was done by confirmatory factor analysis, external criteria by t-test, and reliability by Cronbach’s alpha.

Results

Three models were tested, obtaining a questionnaire with 20 items and 2 dimensions. The criteria validity was confirmed by adherence to the Pap test. The final questionnaire has a reliability of 0.95, measured by Cronbach´s alpha.

Conclusion

A valid and reliable questionnaire to measure self-efficacy in relation to the Pap test is a relevant contribution in cervical cancer prevention, especially related to interventions focused on increasing adherence.

Barriers to and Facilitators of Cervical Cancer Screening among Women in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review

In Southeast Asia, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Low coverage for cervical cancer screening (CCS) becomes a roadblock to disease detection and treatment. Existing reviews on CCS have limited insights into the barriers and facilitators for SEA. Hence, this study aims to identify key barriers and facilitators among women living in SEA. A systematic literature review was conducted on Pubmed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and SCOPUS. Primary qualitative and quantitative studies published in English that reported barriers and facilitators to CCS were included. The Mix Methods Appraisal Tool was used for the quality assessment of the included studies. Among the 93 included studies, pap smears (73.1%) were the most common screening modality. A majority of the studies were from Malaysia (35.5%). No studies were from Timor-Leste and the Philippines. The most common barriers were embarrassment (number of articles, n = 33), time constraints (n = 27), and poor knowledge of screening (n = 27). The most common facilitators were related to age (n = 21), receiving advice from healthcare workers (n = 17), and education status (n = 11). Findings from this review may inform health policy makers in developing effective cervical cancer screening programs in SEA countries.

The Relationship between Perceived Self-Efficacy and Cervical Cancer Screening among Village Health Volunteers in Suratthani Province, Thailand

Objective:

This research aimed to examine the relationship between perceived self-efficacy and cervical cancer screening of village health volunteers.

Methods:

The researchers conducted this descriptive research with 279 samples, each recruited using the stratified random samplings. Data were collected in August 2020 using two research instruments included general data and the self-efficacy assessment. The self-efficacy assessment was tested, yielding a reliability score of 0.90. Data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics and point- biserial correlation.

Results:

The results revealed that the mean scores of perceived self-efficacy were at a high level in (Mean= 4.35, S.D.= 0.77) and perceived self-efficacy of each has the mean scores of at a high level in strength, generality, and magnitude dimension (Mean= 4.27, S.D.= 0.76; Mean= 4.40, S.D.= 1.01; Mean= 4.35, S.D.= 0.76) respectively. There were significantly positive correlations between the perceived self-efficacy and cervical cancer screening at a very high level (r= 0.81, p <0.001). The relationship between the perceived self-efficacy of each in the strength dimension and magnitude dimension with cervical cancer screening was at a very high level of relationship significantly (r= 0.84, 0.82, p < 0.001). The generality dimension was at a high level of relationship significantly. (r= 0.66, p < 0.001).

Conclusion:

This study showed that village health volunteers with high perceived self-efficacy correlated with their confidence screening for cervical cancer. Therefore, village health volunteers should emphasize that women learn and acknowledge the importance of obtaining cervical cancer screening to prevent cervical cancer effectively.