Cervical cancer screening and older Mexican American women

The purpose of this study was to explore an older Mexican American woman's decision-making process to engage in cervical cancer screening. A qualitative single case study design was used along with a purposive, typical case sampling strategy. The participant, a 52-year-old Mexican American woman, was interviewed using a semi-structured format. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. The analytic process revealed three concepts and motivators that influenced the participant's behavior regarding cervical cancer screening practices: knowledge, family history, and sexual history. As such, these findings are useful for crafting subsequent investigations. Although the study participant's experience is instructive regarding facilitators or motivators for engaging in screening practices, further exploration of barriers faced by older Mexican American women who decline to be screened is warranted.