Affiliations 

  • 1 Texas A & M University, Agricultural Economics, 2124 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843-2124, United States
  • 2 Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Social Sciences, 11800 Minden, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Soc Sci Med, 2010 Sep;71(6):1089-93.
PMID: 20685019 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.06.016

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of Papanicolaou Smear Test (PST) screening for cervical cancer among women in Malaysia. Attention is focused on the reasons different population subgroups give for non-screening. We find that Indian women are the least likely to have had a PST and also the least likely to know the reasons why one is screened. Malay women are less likely than Chinese women to have received a PST and are more likely to report embarrassment as the reason for not being tested. Urban women are less likely than rural women to have been tested and more likely to state lack of time as the reason. These results suggest targeted interventions may be necessary to increase screening rates in Malaysia.
Study name: Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance-1 (MyNCDS-1) survey

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.