Factors Influencing Women's Cancer Screening Behavior: A Case Study in South Eastern Iran

Southeast areas of Iran, particularly Kerman province, are among the deprived areas of the country which have received less attention in research about cancer screening. This study focused on screening behaviors in a relatively deprived population of Jiroft and Rabor districts of Kerman province to determine the effective factors in women's common cancers screening.

In this cross-sectional study, we interviewed 970 women aged 20 to 69 years from urban and rural areas of two counties of Kerman province in Iran (Jiroft and Rabor counties), proportional to their population sizes. Participants were asked about their cancer screening history, knowledge, and attitude toward common cancers, as well as their health literacy, all measured on a scale from 0 to 100. Independent samples t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were utilized to examine the relationships between variables. Subsequently, a bivariate and multivariate linear regression model was used to investigate the relationship between the screening score and the other variables with 95% confidence intervals.

The scores for screening, knowledge, and attitude were 14.6, 58.1, and 54, respectively, while health literacy was 18.6. The correlation coefficients between screening and health literacy, awareness, attitude, and knowledge ranged from 0.2 to 0.33. Screening history was lower among older women, those with less education, housekeepers, and divorced women. There was a significant relationship between knowledge about risk factors, attitude, and health literacy.

Although studied women had relatively acceptable scores in knowledge and attitude, cancer screening rates were relatively low. This suggests that a comprehensive approach to health promotion, beyond just health education, is needed to improve cancer screening practices among women in studied areas.