PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alicea M. Mingo
AU  - Catherine A. Panozzo
AU  - Yumi Taylor DiAngi
AU  - Jennifer S. Smith
AU  - Andrew P. Steenhoff
AU  - Doreen Ramogola-Masire
AU  - Noel T. Brewer
TI  - Cervical Cancer Awareness and Screening in Botswana
AID  - 10.1097/IGC.0b013e318249470a
DP  - 2012 May 01
TA  - International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer
PG  - 638--644
VI  - 22
IP  - 4
4099  - http://ijgc.bmj.com/content/22/4/638.short
4100  - http://ijgc.bmj.com/content/22/4/638.full
SO  - Int J Gynecol Cancer2012 May 01; 22
AB  - Objective Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of death in many developing countries because limited screening by Papanicolaou (Pap) smear. We sought to better understand women’s beliefs about cervical cancer and screening in Botswana, a middle-income African country with high rates of cervical cancer.Methods We interviewed 289 women attending general medicine or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinics, where Pap testing was available, in Gaborone, Botswana, in January 2009.Results About three fourths (72%) of the respondents reported having ever had a Pap smear; HIV-positive women were more likely to have had a Pap smear than HIV-negative women (80% vs 64%; odds ratio, 1.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.10–3.55). Screening was also more common among women who were older, had higher incomes, or had heard of cervical cancer. Almost all participants reported a desire to have a Pap smear. Reasons included to determine cervical health (56%), to improve overall health (33%), and to obtain early treatment (34%). About half (54%) of the respondents said they did not know what causes cervical cancer, and almost none attributed the disease to human papillomavirus infection.Conclusions Study findings can inform interventions that seek to increase cervical cancer awareness and uptake of screening as it becomes more widely available.