2025 Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 65-74
Objective：The cervical cancer screening uptake rate among Japanese women in their 20s is low; however, the factors related to screening uptake at each stage of health behavior remain unclear. The objective of this study was to clarify the barriers and facilitators of cervical cancer screening uptake among women in their 20s at each stage of health behavior.
Methods：Semi-structured interviews were conducted among women in their 20s. Participants were classified into seven stages, from unawareness to health maintenance based on the Precaution Adoption Process Model of a health behavior stage model.
Results：This study included 16 interviewees, 70% of whom were in the unawareness stage. Categories of barriers included: Lack of information provided in health checkups, Social norms that hinder receiving checkups, Beliefs and emotions that hinder receiving checkups, Unfavorable image of gynecologists and doctors, and Medical check-up system that makes it difficult to receive checkups. The categories of facilitators were: Methods to provide knowledge and information that encourage checkups, Supportive social norms, Communication from medical staff that make people feel comfortable, and Medical check-up system that makes it easy to receive checkups. In the stage of unawareness, whether individuals close to the interviewees had received medical checkups was mentioned as a barrier or a factor that encouraged them to receive medical checkups. Having a medical check-up system that makes it easy to receive medical checkups was mentioned in all stages.
Conclusion：Our findings suggested the need to set up environments that leverage group behavior, such as educating women in their 20s who are unaware about cervical cancer, in locations where people of a similar age gather; finding ways young women can make check-up appointments together; and encouraging recommendations from those close to them.
