Knowledge and behaviors of women who are HPV positive in Şanlıurfa towards early diagnosis of cervical cancer

The study was conducted in a complementary type to determine the knowledge and behaviors of women who were HPV positive after cervical cancer screening for early diagnosis of cervical cancer in Şanlıurfa province center. The population of the study consisted of HPV-positive women who were screened for cervical cancer in primary health care institutions in Şanlıurfa province center in 2019 and registered in the National HPV Laboratory System. No sample selection was made in the study and it was aimed to reach all women living in Şanlıurfa City Center. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews between 08.09.2021-22.04.2022 using the Data Collection Form. Written permission was obtained from Şanlıurfa Provincial Health Directorate and Harran University Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained from women who agreed to participate in the study. In the evaluation of the data, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used as complementary statistics, and chi-square and Mann Whitney U test were used as univariate analyzes. The average age of women in the study was 43.35±8.644 and 46.2% of them had not completed any level of education. 64.4% of women do not know what cervical cancer is. 85.1% of women are considering being examined for early diagnosis of cervical cancer, even if they have no complaints. 62.7% of women showed early post-screening behavior. Those who have a regular gynecological exam (73.7%), whose genotype is HPV 16/18 after screening (92.8%) and who are non-genotype HPV 16/18, have abnormal Pap smear (Papanicolaou Smear) test (%88.5) Women have a higher level of early diagnostic behavior than cervical cancer (p<0.05). The findings from the study showed that the women who participated in the study had insufficient knowledge of cervical cancer and their level of early detection behavior of cervical cancer. In line with these results, it is recommended to provide special counseling and training to women with positive results after screening, to keep the information of primary and secondary healthcare professionals about cervical cancer screenings and early diagnosis after screening constantly updated, and to use a digital system to monitor patients' early diagnosis behaviors after the screening test.