Cervical cancer is the second leading cancer in women in the world (Khan et al., 2005; Lazcano-Ponce, Rivera, Arillo-Santillan, Salmeron, Hernandez-Avila, & Munoz, 2001; Giuliano et al., 2001). It is estimated that 11,070 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2008 and that 3,870 women will die (American Cancer Society, 2008). Approximately 1,081 cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in Texas while 47 of those cases are projected in El Paso County (Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, 2008a, 2008b). In Mexico, 16,448 new cases of cervical cancer and 6,650 deaths occurred in 2000 (Lewis, 2004).
The present study was a secondary analysis of existing data collected in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México in 2006. Participants in this study completed a pre self-administered questionnaire to evaluate their perceptions using the constructs from the Health Belief Model. Specifically, the present study assessed which constructs were the best predictors of Papanicolaou smear screening, and the relationship between demographic variables and history of screening. The independent variables for the study were age, ethnicity, language, education level, insurance status, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits. The dependent variables were if women had a Pap smear in the last 3 years.
A total of 166 women between the ages of 18 to 63 years of age participated in the study. Seventy-six percent had been screened, while 24% had never had a Pap smear. Fifty-eight percent of participants had a Pap smear within a one-year time frame, 17% had been screened within two years, and 3% had had a Pap smear within three years. A one-way ANOVA revealed that age was a predictor of Pap smear screening (F=31.61, p=.05).
