Assessment of Women's Practices Toward Cervical Cancer Screening at Outpatient Clinics in Baghdad Maternity Hospitals

Background Cervical Cancer is one of the main reasons for gynaecological cancer death that occurs worldwide. Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is an effective and affordable test for early detection of cellular changes in the cervix. Pap smear plays an important role in reducing cervical cancer morbidity and mortality rate Developed countries succeeded in controlling the incidence of cervical cancer, while developing countries have failed miserably in this regard. Developed countries succeeded and it is largely attributable to the systematic and common use of Pap smear screening Objective To assess women's practices toward cervical cancer screening and find out the association between women's practices and their demographic variables. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted between October 2016 and February 2017 at Baghdad maternity hospitals. A questionnaire was constructed to gather information from (400) married women, the data were collected through interview and self administered questionnaire which used. Data are analyzed through the use of SPSS version 20. Results This study shows that the women's practices concerning cervical cancer is poor. There are statistical significant differences between women's practices and duration of marriage, while there are no statistical significant differences between women's practices and the left over demographic variables. Conclusion This study shows that the women's practices toward cervical cancer screening is poor. Recommendation There is a need to provide knowledge about cervical cancer screening, and encourage women to take pap smear test to prevent cervical cancer.