Women's knowledge and practice of Pap smear test and barriers to performing it in Jahrom.

Introduction: Cervical cancer is a major health problem in developing countries, in that 85% of its mortality occur in these countries. Furthermore, patients' survival rate is directly dependent on the stage of the disease at diagnosis. The current study aimed to determine the knowledge and practice of women in Jahrom of Pap smear test and barriers to performing it. Material and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with the statistical population of 384 married women aged 15-65 years old who attended health centers in Jahrom in summer 2010. Random cluster sampling was used to select the participants and a questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: In this study, 76% of the participants (n=275) were aware of Pap smear test. Major sources for information on the test included health care staff (36.5%), gynecologists (15.9%) and friends and relatives (11.7%). Overall, 22.8% of women had low knowledge, 64.8% had moderate knowledge and 12.4% had good knowledge. In terms of practice, only 36% of participants (n=131) had at least one Pap smear test. Conclusion: To promote the awareness of people with low and moderate knowledge, who comprise a high percentage of the population, and also to improve women's practice of Pap smear test, holding training classes in health care centers and broadcasting educational programs in the mass media can be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]