Objective: To identify factors impacting rates of cervical cancer screening among women receiving medical care through a safety-net health system.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess knowledge regarding cervical cancer, as well as individual attitudes, beliefs and perceptions among women presenting to two publically-funded community clinics. Sample size was powered to detect a 15% difference in screening prevalence (p <0.05).

Results: Of 1,094 women invited to participate, 983 subjects completed a questionnaire. Eighty two percent of subjects reported having had a Pap test in the past 3 years. Hispanic ethnicity and being born outside the U.S. were significantly associated with the lowest rates of screening, while African-American women had the highest screening rates. The majority of respondents had accurate knowledge regarding the Pap test and its role in cervical cancer screening. In addition to knowledge of the Pap test, we found that knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors, continuity of care and a sense of fatalism were each associated with higher rates of cervical cancer screening. We also found that a partner's opinion regarding the importance of testing was robustly associated with screening in Hispanic women (OR=10.7 p<0.0001). Low rates of screening among African-American and Caucasian women correlated with perceptions of poor provider communication, less social support and having multiple sexual partners.

Conclusions: In the absence of health access barriers, multiple socio-cultural factors significantly impact cervical cancer screening rates. Among Hispanic women, perceived attitudes of partners is strongly associated with participation in cervical cancer screening.

Citation Format: Abayomi N. Ogunwale, Haleh Sangi-Haghpeykar, Jane Montealegre, Margaret A. Nosek, Maria Jibaja-Weiss, Matthew L. Anderson. Predictors of cervical cancer screening among women receiving care in a safety-net health system. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr B83.