The effect of education given to hearing impaired women on the behaviors of pap smear screening

Aim: The aim of the research was to determine the effect of the Pap Smear Education given to the hearing impaired women over the behaviors of having Pap smear test. Material and Method: This study was conducted in four associations which are actively in service in İzmir province and in which hearing impaired women are registered without choosing a sample and with the 156 of 230 women (experimental group:78 and control group:78) who are proper for the criteria to be included and who admit to participate the study. Data were collected in related associations in three stages with face to face interview technique and by using Turkish Sign Language. The first stage is assembling an acquaintance meeting with the women, the second stage is data collection and giving education to the women in experimental group and the last stage is investigating the situation of having Pap smear test and the knowledge levels of the women in the experimental group 3 months after the data collection. Results: Any statistically significant difference wasn't found between the basic descriptive characteristics of experimental and control groups (except age). There wasn't any statistically significant difference stated between experimental (0.6±1.7) and control (1.1±2.0) groups in average knowledge scores about cervical cancer and Pap smear test (p=0.999). the average of total knowledge scores about cervical cancer and Pap smear test for the women in the experimental group are stated as 0.6±1.6 before the education and 9.2± 1.4 after the education. Before the education it was stated that 26.3% of the women (experimental=19.2%; control= 33.3%) had Pap smear test. Three months after the education it was found that 29.5% of the women in experimental group and 1.2% of the women in control group had Pap smear test (p=0.000). Conclusion: In this study it was noticed that cervical cancer and Pap smear test educations given to the hearing impaired women effected their knowledge levels about that subject and their behaviors of having Pap smear test.