AIMS: A main reason for increasing incidence of cervical cancer worldwide is the lack of regular cervical cancer screening. Coverage and uptake remain major challenges and it is crucial to determine the perceived susceptibility to cervical cancer, as well as the benefits of, and barriers to, cervical cancer screening among women.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 369 women attending an outpatient centre in Malaysia and data were collected by administering a self-report questionnaire.
RESULTS: The majority of the participants (265, 71.8%) showed good level of perception of their susceptibility to cervical cancer. Almost all responded positively to four statements about the perceived benefits of cervical cancer screening (agree, 23.1% or strongly agree, 52.5%), whereas negative responses were received from most of the participants (agree, 29.9%or strongly agree, 14.6 %) about the eleven statements on perceived barriers. Significant associations were observed between age and perceived susceptibility(x2=9.030, p=0.029); between employment status (p<0.001) as well as ethnicity and perceived benefits (p<0.05 [P=0.003]); and between education and perceived barriers to cervical cancer screening (p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Perceived susceptibility, including knowledge levels and personal risk assessment, should be emphasized through education and awareness campaigns to improve uptake of cervical cancer screening in Malaysia.
This protocol describes a systematic scoping review of chronic respiratory disease surveys in low/middle-income countries (LMICs) undertaken as part of the Four Country ChrOnic Respiratory Disease (4CCORD) study within the National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE). Understanding the prevalence and burden of chronic respiratory disease (CRD) underpins healthcare planning. We will systematically scope the literature to identify existing strategies (definitions/questionnaires/diagnostics/outcomes) used in surveys of CRDs in adults in low-resource settings. We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI WoS, Global Health and WHO Global Health Library [search terms: prevalence AND CRD (COPD, asthma) AND LMICs, from 1995], and two reviewers will independently extract data from selected studies onto a piloted customised data extraction form. We will convene a workshop of the multidisciplinary 4CCORD research team with representatives from the RESPIRE partners (Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Edinburgh) at which the findings of the scoping review will be presented, discussed and interpreted. The findings will inform a future RESPIRE 4CCORD study, which will estimate CRD burden in adults in Asian LMICs.