Abstract

It was the purpose of this study to identify the attitudes of a selected group of women which influenced their participation in Papanicolaou testing. These attitudes were inferred from the reasons women gave for obtaining the test. The subjects were randomly selected from the telephone book of a medium-sized town in Southern California. The 135 women who participated in the telephone interview were considered to be the respondents in the study.

A review of the literature revealed that through the annual use of the Papanicolaou smear, approximately 11,000 deaths every year from uterine and cervical cancer could be prevented, Attitudes identified in the literature which prevented the use of the smear were modesty, fear, apathy, guilt, and the belief that cancer was incurable.

Responses to the interviews were analyzed according to the variables of age, nationality, religion, education, and social class as related to the frequency and reasons for starting routine testing, along with the reasons expressed for obtaining or not obtaining a smear.

The age range of the sample population was 70 years. from 19 to 89. Major findings of the study revealed that almost all of the women had had at least one Papanicolaou smear but only about half of these women were having them done regularly. Most of those who were regular began routine testing ten and twenty years ago. Common reasons for beginning regular testing were the onset of symptoms and the initiation of regular physical examinations. Cancer detection was most often given as a reason for having a cytologic examination but was not the primary reason most women did. Rather, smears were principally done as a routine part of a physical examination. Nearly half of the women studied were not utilizing the Papanicolaou smear. This lack of use was mainly because the women did not think about it or it was not important since they were not having symptoms. The findings seemed to show that most women participated in the examination out of reasons other than for cancer detection. Reasons that reflected lack of knowledge and indifference were frequently found to be held by women not participating in the examination. The findings also revealed that younger women began routine testing when they were younger and older women when they were older. Each age group began testing for different reasons. Negroes were less likely to have had a smear than were Caucasian. Women with a junior high school education or less had the lowest incidence of having had a smear. Women with less than a high school education were least likely to be a regular in their testing.

On the basis of the findings of this study it was concluded that the selected group of women participated in Papanicolaou testing mainly for reasons other than cancer detection. Women who were not participating in the testing commonly gave reasons that were indicative of lack of knowledge and indifference. It was also concluded that these reasons were influenced by age, nationality, education, and social class. Based on these conclusions, inferences were made as to the attitudes reflected in the reasons given for obtaining or not obtaining smears. It appeared that most of the women were lax in their attitudes towards seeking a smear. Women not participating in the testing were indifferent or had limited knowledge about cancer and the smear. It was recommended that further studies be done to identify attitudes and how to bring about change in these attitudes.

LLU Discipline

Nursing

Department

Nursing

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

L. Lucile Lewis

Second Advisor

Charleene W. Riffel

Third Advisor

Clifford D. Achord

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Level

M.S.

Year Degree Awarded

1975

Date (Title Page)

6-1975

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Genitalia, Female; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Type

Thesis

Page Count

vii; 104

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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