Attitudes and beliefs about cervical smear testing in ever-married Jordanian women

To investigate attitudes and beliefs that affect a woman’s decision to undergo cervical smear screening, we carried out a survey of 760 women attending general obstetrics and gynaecology clinics in Irbid, Jordan between June 2004 and April 2005. Knowledge of cervical cancer and the Pap smear test was inadequate in less-educated and older patients. Of the 109 women who had previously had the test, 104 (95.4%) had opportunistic testing. Around 95% of the sample had never had the test. Major barriers to Pap smear screening included inadequate knowledge about the test, not being referred by a health professional and fear of having a bad result. The current screening programme is not effective in reaching the majority of the population.