Examining factors related to cervical cancer screening among women, ages 18 and older, in Virginia: Based on the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Background. Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. However, the Pap test, a simple screening procedure, is used to detect cervical cancer and recent studies have shown that there are still many women that do not receive the Pap test. It is important to identify women that are not screened to better understand barriers to screening and to improve screening rates in the state of Virginia.; Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors contribute to women not receiving Pap tests in a sample population and to analyze the strengths of the associations between the various independent variables and outcome variables.; Methods. The 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data was used for this study. The BRFSS collects information by telephone. The questionnaire used asks questions pertaining to demographics, as well as behavioral issues. Prevalence odds ratios (POR) and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the strengths of the associations. Logistic regression was used for the independent variables to further assess the associations between them and the outcome variables. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...