Sociodemographic and Behavioral Determinants of Cervical Cancer Screening among Adult Women in the United States
Abstract:
Cervical cancer poses a significant burden on women worldwide, with particularly devastating impacts in developing nations, despite the availability of established prevention methods. This study aims to determine the socio-demographic and behavioral determinants of cervical cancer screening among adult women in the United States. This study is a cross-sectional study, and it employed the use and analysis of the 2022 behavioral risk factor surveillance system data. Descriptive statistics for all the variables were obtained, and chi-square test was used to determine statistical significance of observed differences in cross tabulated variables. Statistical significance level was taken at p-value < 0.05 and confidence interval at 95%. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was done to ascertain any statistical significant between socio-demographic variables and uptake rate of cervical screening. Among the 204,540 respondents, about 60% had previously undergone cervical cancer screening and the determinants of cervical cancer screening include age, single marital status, education, race, health insurance status, general health, veteran status, smoking, alcohol use, and income. In conclusion, the screening rate for cervical cancer found by this study is still low for a developed nation like the United States and sociodemographic factors associated with screening rate were age, single marital status, education, race, health insurance status, general health, veteran status, smoking, alcohol use, and income. It is therefore recommended that targeted interventions, policy initiatives, and community engagement be instituted to increase screening uptake among citizens of the United States.
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