Sharuja Jegathees1, Olivia A Mac1, Rachael H Dodd1. 1. Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Since December 2017, the Australian National Cervical Screening Program no longer recommends screening for women under 25 years of age. AIM: To explore the attitudes of women under 25 years toward the changes. METHODS: In December 2019, women aged 18-24, residing in Australia, were recruited via the social media platform Instagram and Facebook. Descriptive analysis, t-tests, χ2 tests and multivariable regressions were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Five hundred and twelve women completed a cross-sectional web-based survey. Women who were older (22-24: 3.1 vs 18-21: 2.8, P < 0.001), sexually active (3.1 vs 2.7, P = 0.003), vaccinated against human papillomavirus (mean = 3.2 vs 2.7, P = 0.005) or who had screened previously (mean = 3.5 vs 2.8, P < 0.001) had significantly greater knowledge about the current cervical screening practices. Older women (odds ratio (OR) = 0.85, 95% CI 0.80-0.95) or those who had screened previously (OR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.31-0.83) were less positive about the delayed start age of screening and five-yearly screening (OR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.35-0.85). A significant association was determined between being sexually active (χ2 (4) = 32.71, P < 0.001) and women who had screened previously (χ2 (4) = 34.43, P < 0.001), with a greater intention to screen in the future. Regarding health information, 64.6% of women had never heard of the 'National Cervical Screening Program' website and 38.9% of the sample (n = 199/512) reported they had 'rarely' noticed any health information regarding cervical screening in the past 12 months. CONCLUSION: Further work is required to rectify women's knowledge of cervical screening to ensure women under 25 are aware of the screening guidelines and reduce the potential for over-testing and overtreatment in this age group.
BACKGROUND: Since December 2017, the Australian National Cervical Screening Program no longer recommends screening for women under 25 years of age. AIM: To explore the attitudes of women under 25 years toward the changes. METHODS: In December 2019, women aged 18-24, residing in Australia, were recruited via the social media platform Instagram and Facebook. Descriptive analysis, t-tests, χ2 tests and multivariable regressions were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Five hundred and twelve women completed a cross-sectional web-based survey. Women who were older (22-24: 3.1 vs 18-21: 2.8, P < 0.001), sexually active (3.1 vs 2.7, P = 0.003), vaccinated against human papillomavirus (mean = 3.2 vs 2.7, P = 0.005) or who had screened previously (mean = 3.5 vs 2.8, P < 0.001) had significantly greater knowledge about the current cervical screening practices. Older women (odds ratio (OR) = 0.85, 95% CI 0.80-0.95) or those who had screened previously (OR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.31-0.83) were less positive about the delayed start age of screening and five-yearly screening (OR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.35-0.85). A significant association was determined between being sexually active (χ2 (4) = 32.71, P < 0.001) and women who had screened previously (χ2 (4) = 34.43, P < 0.001), with a greater intention to screen in the future. Regarding health information, 64.6% of women had never heard of the 'National Cervical Screening Program' website and 38.9% of the sample (n = 199/512) reported they had 'rarely' noticed any health information regarding cervical screening in the past 12 months. CONCLUSION: Further work is required to rectify women's knowledge of cervical screening to ensure women under 25 are aware of the screening guidelines and reduce the potential for over-testing and overtreatment in this age group.
Authors: Patricia Zhu; Ovidiu Tatar; Ben Haward; Gabrielle Griffin-Mathieu; Samara Perez; Laurie Smith; Julia Brotherton; Gina Ogilvie; Zeev Rosberger Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2022-07-28