Determining the relationship between women's health responsibility and their attitudes towards early diagnosis of cervical cancer

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the relationship between women's health responsibility and their attitudes towards early diagnosis of cervical cancer. The population of the study consisted of 3411 women aged 21 to 65 years who presented to the Cancer Early Diagnosis, Screening and Training Center (KETEM) where the study was conducted within a year. The study sample consisted of 662 women who presented to the cancer-screening center between March 2017 and September 2017 and accepted to participate in the study. To collect the study data, the Sociodemographic Characteristics Questionnaire, Health Responsibility subscale of the Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II, and Scale of Attitudes towards Early Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer were used. The mean age of the women participating in the study was 48.04 ± 8.26. Of the participants, 62.2% (n = 412) were primary school graduates, 60.9% (n = 403) perceived their income level as good, 88.2% (n = 584) were not aware of any method used for the early detection of cervical cancer, 71% (n = 470) heard of Pap Smear (ya da Pap test), 97% (n = 642) did not have a Pap Smear (ya da Pap test) of their own free will, 34% (n = 225) had never had a Pap Smear (ya da Pap test) and 89.9% had a gynecological examination regularly. In the study, it was determined that there was a weak negative relationship between the mean scores obtained from the Scale of Attitudes towards Early Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer and its subscales and the mean scores obtained from the Health Responsibility subscale of the Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II. It was also determined that health responsibility was a factor affecting perceived sensitivity. In conclusion, it is recommended that in order to protect and improve public health, trainings targeting women should be planned, implemented and generalized, and that nurses should serve as a role model to raise women's awareness of cervical cancer and to take protective measures. Key Words: Cervical Cancer, Health Responsibility, Pap Smear.