Predictors of Cervical Cancer Screening and Physician Recommendations among Women in the United States using Current Screening Guidelines

Authors

Vincy SamuelFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Public Health

First Advisor's Name

Nasar U. Ahmed

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Mary Jo Trepka

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Purnima Madhivanan

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Boubakari Ibrahimou

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fifth Advisor's Name

Richard Tardanico

Fifth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

cervical cancer, cervical cancer screening, pap test, pap smear, physician recommendation

Date of Defense

11-5-2018

Abstract

In 2015, there were 257,524 women with cervical cancer (CC) in the United States (U.S.). CC is preventable; screening detects early-stage cancer when treatment is most successful. This study aimed to identify predictors for CC screening adherence among U.S. women, describe predictors for screening adherence by marital status, and examine physician recommendation for CC screening and adherence to those recommendations. Predictors were grouped as demographic, acculturation, access to care, chronic conditions, and health behaviors. Descriptive analyses were performed on a sample of 10,667 women from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey, and multiple logistic regression models determined predictors of CC screening adherence, physician recommendations, and adherence to physician recommendations.

Overall, 81.7% (95%CI=80.7-82.7%) of U.S. women adhered to CC screening guidelines. Adherence declined with increasing age after 39 years old. Never married women (adjusted odds ratio[aOR]=0.67, CI=0.56-0.79) or current smokers (aOR=0.70, CI=0.59-0.84) had lower odds, while college-educated women had greater odds (aOR=1.38, CI=1.14-1.67) of CC screening adherence.

Among unmarried women, 78.6% adhered to CC screening. Unmarried women who were unemployed (aOR=0.48, CI=0.38-0.62), had no physician visits (aOR=0.58, CI=0.40-0.85), no usual source of care (aOR=0.67, CI=0.50-0.89), never heard of HPV (aOR=0.59, CI=0.46-0.76), never received HPV vaccine (aOR=0.50, CI=0.34-0.75), no birth control use (aOR=0.33, CI=0.23-0.47), no flu shot (aOR=0.62, CI=0.48-0.80), and perceived low breast cancer risk (aOR=0.66, CI=0.47-0.92) had lower odds of adherence.

Among women with a physician, 55.6% received screening recommendations. Race/ethnicity, access to care, HPV knowledge and vaccine receipt, age when first child was born, and flu shot were significant predictors of physician recommendation for CC screening. Significant predictors of adherence to physician recommendation included education, employment, English proficiency, outpatient clinic visits, usual source of care, age when first child was born, birth control, alcohol use, smoking status, flu shot, and health status.

Based on our results, two levels of intervention should be explored. First, targeted interventions are needed for women who are unmarried, have low socio-economic status, and limited access to care to reduce cervical cancer risk. Second, interventions for physicians to increase screening recommendations to all eligible women are needed to improve national screening rates.

Identifier

FIDC007006

Recommended Citation

Samuel, Vincy, "Predictors of Cervical Cancer Screening and Physician Recommendations among Women in the United States using Current Screening Guidelines" (2018). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3901.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3901