Knowledge, behavior and beliefs related to cervical cancer and screening among Turkish women.

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to explore Turkish women's knowledge, behavior and beliefs related to cervical cancer and screening. METHODS The study was performed in two cities in the East of Turkey between September 2009 and April 2010, with a sampling group of 387 women. Data were collected by means of an interview form with the Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and Pap Smear Test - Turkish Version. RESULTS Women in the research group were found to have poor knowledge, inadequate health behavior and low/medium level false beliefs regarding cervical cancer screening. There was relation between health beliefs and characteristics of women and particularly education (F = 10.80, p = 0.01). Similarly, it was found that Pap smear barriers were influenced by demographic characteristics and that women with low-level education (p = 0.001), divorced women (p = 0.05), women with low-income(p = 0.05), women who gave their first birth when they were 18 or younger (p = 0.05) and women not applying any contraceptive method at all (p = 0.01) were determined to have negative Pap smear barriers. CONCLUSIONS Primarily the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of women in the target group should be evaluated to increase their participation in cervical cancer screening and to prepare effective education strategies.