Maria Saridi

Exploring Women’s Attitudes Towards Cervical Cancer Screening and Their Association with Life Satisfaction and General Life Attitudes: A Systematic Review

Cervical cancer is a serious public health issue worldwide, with screening playing a critical role in the prevention and early diagnosis of the disease. Despite its proven effectiveness, women's participation rates in screening remain insufficient. This systematic review aims to investigate the degree of compliance among women with cervical cancer screening and the factors associated with these attitudes. It also aims to examine the association between life satisfaction and general attitudes towards life with women's compliance with this screening. The PRISMA 2020 methodology was followed. The PICO framework was used to identify relevant studies in the PubMed and Scopus databases. The search was performed in November 2024. Five studies with quantitative design met the inclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale adapted for cross-sectional studies. Data were synthesized narratively presented in summary tables. Life satisfaction emerged as a positive predictor of participation in cervical cancer screening. In addition, factors such as high educational level, active employment status, and religiosity were associated with positive attitudes towards screening. Conversely, smoking habits, low health literacy, and fatalism beliefs about cancer were associated with reduced participation in screening. The small number of included studies (n=5), sample and variable heterogeneity, and the inability to do a meta-analysis, however, constituted important limitations of the review. In addition, restricting the search to English-language published studies may have excluded relevant evidence. Life satisfaction is an important predictor of preventive health behaviors. Interventions that aim to enhance life satisfaction and psychological well-being in general may improve compliance with cervical cancer screening and, by extension, prevent the disease.

Missed Opportunities in Cervical Cancer Prevention: Knowledge and Screening Practices Among Women with Hemoglobinopathies in Greece

Women with hemoglobinopathies represent a chronically ill population with frequent healthcare contact, yet limited integration into preventive health programs. Despite the proven effectiveness of HPV vaccination and screening, cervical cancer remains a preventable cause of both morbidity and mortality. To assess the levels of knowledge, awareness, and adherence to cervical cancer prevention and screening practices among women with hemoglobinopathies in Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 202 women with thalassemia or sickle cell disease, attending a tertiary hospital's Hemoglobinopathy Unit in Athens between December 2023 and March 2024. Data were collected using the validated Cervical Cancer Knowledge and Prevention Questionnaire (CCKP-64) and analyzed with SPSS 25, using descriptive and inferential statistics. Nearly all participants were aware of cervical cancer (98.5%), the Pap test (99.0%), and the HPV vaccine (96.5%). However, only 6.5% were vaccinated against HPV, while 75.2% underwent annual Pap screening. Higher adherence to screening was associated with younger age (p = 0.009), employment status (p = 0.032), and higher income (p = 0.049). Knowledge regarding risk factors was moderate, with 58.4% recognizing HPV infection as the main cause. The most frequent reason for non-compliance was negligence (14.8%). Despite adequate awareness of cervical cancer and good adherence to Pap testing, HPV vaccination rates remain strikingly low among women with hemoglobinopathies. This highlights missed opportunities to integrate HPV vaccination and education into chronic disease management. Tailored preventive strategies and continuous awareness campaigns are essential to achieving the WHO's 2030 cervical cancer elimination goals.