Awareness of cervical cancer screening among women in Serbia

The success of cervical cancer screening programs in North America and Western Europe has led to their expansion into other regions of the world. As these services become available on a large scale in other countries, it is imperative to understand the background conditions that may present challenges to their effectiveness there.

Women were recruited from two different areas in Central Serbia. Both focus group discussions and survey instruments were used to gauge participants' knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer screening issues.

Results were mostly similar to comparable studies performed in other regions. Education and economic status were not highly related to knowledge about cervical screening. The population sampled showed a broad lack of knowledge about the necessity of screening and shared attitudinal barriers with women in other regions.

The success of public awareness campaigns elsewhere suggests that a media-centered approach could have good results in Serbia. The lack of media attention noted in the study focus groups supports this conclusion.