Predicting cervical cancer screening behavior among women in southern Iran: a cross-sectional study with PEN-3 model.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the fact that the Pap smear test is a simple, affordable, painless and relatively reliable method to diagnose cervical cancer in women, the majority of women are unaware of the value of this valuable diagnostic method. There are many cultural and social barriers to this diagnostic method. The present study was conducted to predict cervical cancer screening behavior with PEN-3 model among women residents of Bandar Abbas. METHODS: The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 260 women aged 18 years and above who visited the comprehensive health centers of Bandar Abbas. The data were collected online using a demographic information questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire based on the PEN-3 model constructs and analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson correlation test and logistic regression analysis in SPSS-23. RESULTS: The participants' age ranged between 18 and 52 years with an average of 30.95 ± 5.47 years. 27.7% of the participants had done their last pap smear test less than 1 year before the study and 26.2% had not done a pap smear test until the time of study. The results showed that the mean scores of knowledge (11.28 ± 2.87), attitude (64.96 ± 4.96), enablers (44.66 ± 5.8), and nurturers (36.02 ± 8.83) in women who had done the cervical cancer screening behavior was more than those who had not done the behavior. Also, the results of logistic regression analysis showed that knowledge, attitude and nurturers were the major predictors of cervical cancer screening behavior. CONCLUSION: The present findings showed that knowledge, attitude, enablers and nurturers play a major role in women's participation in Pap smear test. These findings should be considered in the development and implementation of educational interventions.

Effectiveness of educational intervention on women's participation to cervical cancer screening: a quasi-experimental study based on PEN-3 model.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancer types among women in developing countries. Women's behavior in the early detection of the disease is influenced by sociocultural factors. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the effect of an educational intervention based on PEN-3 model on women's participation in cervical cancer screening. METHODS: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted with 160 women participants visiting health care centers in Bandar Abbas in 2021. The sampling was as a multi-stage clustering, and the participants were divided into two groups, an intervention and a control (each with 80 participants). The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire based on the PEN-3 model constructs before and 3 months after an educational intervention (a training course). The intervention involved 30 online sessions of 15-20 minutes for the intervention group while the control group did not receive any training. RESULTS: After the educational intervention, the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, enablers, nurturers and the Pap smear test behavior in the experimental group increased significantly compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The analysis of covariance results showed that by modulating the effect of pre-test score, there was a statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the post-intervention behavior score. CONCLUSION: In the light of the present findings, it can be concluded that interventions based on the PEN-3 model with a focus on knowledge -raising, changing beliefs and identifying sociocultural and environmental factors that affect cervical cancer screening behavior can prevent cervical cancer in women.

The effectiveness of a model-based health education program on genital warts preventive behaviors: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Genital warts (GWs) are highly prevalent among Iranian women. GWs are not only highly infectious but are also followed by severe adverse effects, including the development of cervical cancer. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the effect of an educational intervention based on the health belief model (HBM) on the adoption of GWs preventive behaviors by married women in Bandar Abbas, a city in the south of Iran. METHODS: A quasi-experimental intervention was conducted between 2019 and 2020 among 150 women participants (75 as the intervention and 75 as the control group). The sampling method was multi-stage clustering. The required data was collected using a reliable and valid tripartite questionnaire which explored demographic information, awareness, and HBM constructs. A total number of 15 educational sessions were held, each 90 min long. The control group received only one 90-min session. The final follow-up was completed three months after the intervention in November 2020. RESULTS: The two research groups had no statistically significant differences in terms of awareness, perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy before the intervention (in the pre-test) (p > .05). After the educational intervention, the two groups showed statistically significant differences in all constructs except for the perceived benefits (p < .001). In the intervention group, in the pretest (before the intervention), the behavior score was 2.77 ± 2.59, which was increased to 3.73 ± .52 after the intervention (p < .001). In the control group, however, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.227). CONCLUSION: The present findings showed that the educational intervention based on the HBM can improve the prevalence of GWs preventive behaviors in women. This education should be provided by experts at regular intervals in all healthcare centers.