Breast Self-Examination and Cervical (PAP) Smear Test: Attitudes and Self-Reported Practices among South African Women

Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes and practices of breast self-examination and cervical (Pap) smear test among South African women. The sample included 150 Black and 150 White women chosen by systematic random sampling from telephone directories. The Black women were within the age range of 18 to 80 years (M age 38.9 yr., SD = 4.7), and the White women were within the age range of 19 to 91 years (M age 41.8 yr., SD = 3.5). Analysis indicated that 97.1% of the White women and 44.9% of the Black women said that they know how to examine their breasts. Of those women, significantly more Black (56.1%) than White (8.9%) women examined with the recommended frequency of more than 10 times a year. Of the Black women 60.5% and 8.4% of White women had never had a cervical smear test. Logistic regression analysis indicated that attitudes were an independent predictor for these two tests.