The factors affecting cervical cancer screening among addicted women of Hamedan in 2015: On the basis of Protection Motivation Theory model

• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Golestan University of Medical Sciences 2017-01-01
• Series: Jorjani Biomedicine Journal
• Subjects: Protection motivation theory (PMT); Cervical cancer; Addiction
• Online Access: http://goums.ac.ir/jorjanijournal/browse.php?a_code=A-10-24-92&slc_lang=en&sid=1

Background and Objectives:  Cervical cancer is one of the most common types of genital cancer among women in developing countries. Addicted women are among the high-risk group of patients who suffer from cervical cancer. Health Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) is one of the theories that emphasizes on fear effects of health risks (such as diseases) on attitudes and health behaviors. Thus, this study was performed to determine the factors associated with cervical cancer screening behavior using PMT on addicted women referring to addiction treatment center of Hamedan in 2015. Methods: The current study was conducted on 56 addicted women referring to Hannah's Methadone Therapy Counseling Center in June 2015. A researcher-made questionnaire which comprised of three sections (demographics, knowledge and assessment of the PMT constructs) was used to collect data. The validity of questionnaire was evaluated using content validity method and test-retest test was used to measure reliability. Data were analyzed statistically by SPSS version 16 and using T-test, Chi-Square and ANOVA tests. Results: The mean age of all participants was 46.48±10.82 years. The average duration of addiction was 8.11±7.22 years. Of all samples, 53.6% had never done any Pap smear test. There was not a  significant relevance between test performance (screening method) and the marital status, income or the last pregnancy method. However, there was a significant relationship between test performance and education (P=0.041), awareness level (P<0.001), structures of motivation (P<0.001), perceived costs (P=0.031), perceived rewards (P=0.001), self-efficacy (P<0.001) and efficient response (P<0.001). Conclusion: We showed that there was a significant relevance between test performance and the level of awareness and various domains of PMT. Thus, it is recommended that PMT could be used during educational interventions and counseling procedures.