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Hindi Research Article
Practice and Barriers towards Cervical Cancer Screening among University Staff at a Malaysian University
Redhwan Ahmed Al-Naggar1* and Robert Chen21Community Medicine Department, International Medical School,Management and Science University (MSU), Malaysia
2Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Corresponding Author:
- Dr. Redhwan Ahmed Al-Naggar
Community Medicine Department
International Medical School
Management and Science University(MSU), Malaysia
E-mail: radhwan888@yahoo.com
Received Date: December 23, 2011; Accepted Date: January 17, 2012; Published Date: January 19, 2012
Citation: Al-Naggar RA, Chen R (2012) Practice and Barriers towards Cervical Cancer Screening among University Staff at a Malaysian University. J Community Med Health Edu 2:120. doi: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000120
Copyright: © 2012 Al-Naggar RA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the practice and barriers towards the Pap smear test among Malaysian women.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional survey of female university staff. Data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire from a total of 117 women. T-test and ANOVA test were conducted to determine if there was a significant difference between the study parameters.
Results: A total number of 117 female university staff participated in this study. The majority of them were Malays, single, and living in the city (92.3%, 58.1%, and 92.3%; respectively). Regarding lifestyle practices, the majority consumed vitamin and mineral supplements regularly, and exercised once a week, (55.6%, and 41%, respectively). As for their knowledge about cervical cancer, the majority have heard about the Pap smear test before (81.2%). Regarding the practice of Pap smear test, only 22.2% ever had a Pap smear test done. As for the barriers toward having a Pap smear test done, the most common barrier among study participants was lack of time (29.9%), followed by the excuse that the Pap smear test is a painful procedure (17.9%). Regarding the factors that influenced the practice of having a Pap smear test were marital status, occupation, regular vitamin and mineral supplements intake, daily fruits intake, regular medical check-up, educational and income level significantly influenced the practice (p=0.001, p=0.002, p=0.034, p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.024, p=0.001; respectively).
Conclusion: The majority of participants in this study showed good knowledge about the Pap smear test. However, the practice of Pap smear test was very low due to the following barriers: lack of time and the perception of it being a painful procedure. Marital status, healthy lifestyle, educational and income levels significantly influenced the practice of having the Pap smear test done.
