Erin M. Gee

Correlates of women's cancer screening and contraceptive knowledge among female emergency department patients

BackgroundLack of knowledge regarding preventive health services for women might impede campaigns to expand these services in the emergency department setting. For 18–55-year-old English-speaking women visiting an urban emergency department, we aimed to: (1) Ascertain their knowledge regarding the applicability, purpose, and recommended intervals of three womens cancer screening and three contraceptive methods; and (2) Determine if patient age, race/ethnicity, medical insurance status, and current or recent usage of these methods are associated with greater or lesser knowledge about them.MethodsEmergency department-based survey on recent or current usage and knowledge about Pap smears, breast self-examinations, mammograms, condoms, birth control, and emergency contraception. Analyses included calculation of summary statistics and creation of multivariable logistic regression models.ResultsOf 1,100 patients eligible for the study, 69.9% agreed to participate. Most of the participants were < age 35, white, single (never married and no partner), Catholic, and had private medical insurance. Participants recent or current usage of a particular cancer screening or contraceptive method varied by type of method: Pap smear within the past year (69.1%), breast self-exam within the past month (45.5%), mammogram within the past year (65.7% for women age 45–55), condom usage during every episode of sexual intercourse (15.4%), current usage of birth control pills (17.8%), and ever use of emergency contraception (9.3%). The participants correctly answered 87.9% of all survey questions about condoms, 82.5% about birth control pills, 78.5% about breast self-exams, 52.9% about Pap smears, 35.4% about mammograms, and 25.0% about emergency contraception. In multivariable logistic regression models, survey participants who had private medical insurance and those who recently or currently used a given screening or contraceptive method had a greater odds of correctly answering all questions about each cancer screening or contraceptive method.ConclusionAlthough these female ED patients demonstrated strong knowledge on some womens cancer screening and contraceptive methods, there were several areas of knowledge deficit. Women without private medical insurance and those who have not used a particular cancer screening or contraceptive method demonstrated less knowledge. Reduced knowledge about womens cancer screening and contraceptive methods should be considered during clinical encounters and when instituting or evaluating emergency department-based initiatives that assess the need for these methods.

Negative Opinions About Cancer Screening and Contraceptive Measures by Female Emergency Department Patients

We sought to determine the extent to which adult female emergency department participants viewed two women’s cancer screening and two contraceptive measures negatively. The study also explored the relationship between having a negative opinion about these measures and participant demography, lack of knowledge, and lack of usage of these measures. Few women expressed negative opinions about these measures. Lack of knowledge about and lack of use of these measures were associated with having negative opinions on these cancer screening and contraceptive measures. Having any negative opinion about one cancer screening or contraceptive measure was associated with a higher risk of having any negative opinion on another measure. The results suggest that influencing opinion and knowledge about these measures might impact the success of emergency department-based cancer screening and contraceptive health programs. Editors’ Strategic Implications: Emergency departments (and primary care settings) provide key opportunities for prevention. Replication is needed, but the authors present important data on knowledge, attitudes, and characteristics that might influence women’s receptivity to consent to and engage in behaviors consistent with prevention, screening, and health promotion.