Young People’s Knowledge and Feelings about Cervical Cancer Screening

Abstract

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the awareness of young people and their feelings about cervical cancer screening, and to investigate factors affecting screening behavior. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among 352 female college and university students in their early 20s. The questionnaire consisted of subject demographics, plus 15 items on knowledge of, and 24 items on feelings about cervical cancer screening. The questionnaire was answered by 176 students. After excluding incomplete questionnaires, the remaining 168 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as the χ² test and the Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that only a low proportion of students had undergone screening and the knowledge of non-medical students about cervical cancer screening was poor. Many young people understood the seriousness of cervical cancer, but thought that it was a disease irrelevant to them. In addition, they had a poor awareness about the concrete details of screening and felt that there were disadvantages with screening. However, a higher proportion of students who knew about infection routes and increased incidence in the young felt the necessity of screening and stated their intention to receive screening. Furthermore, female students expressed their intent to take action to receive screening, if given any opportunity. From these findings, the following emerged as important points to encourage young females to undergo screening：awareness of the morbidity of cervical cancer and the benefit of screening must be raised；information on infection routes should be provided；awareness of the increased incidence of cervical cancer in the young should be raised；and education should be provided about the actual screening process.