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Using Behavioral Intention Model to Interpret Taiwanese Women's Intentions to Accept Pap Smear Screening

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Hwey-Fang Liang, PhD, RN
Nursing, Chang-Gung Institute of Technology, Pu-Tz city, Chia-Yi County, Chia-Yi, Taiwan
Kuang-Ming Wu, EdD
Early Childhood Education, National Chia-Yi University, Ming-Shong, Chia-Yi County, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: understand Taiwanese women’s behavior intentions of pap smear use applying the theory of a planned behavior model.

Learning Objective 2: understand a nurse’s role while meet the women who need to receive pap smear education.

Purpose: Pap smear screening has been remained as a reliable and efficient approach to detect cervical cancer in the early stage and improve the opportunities to cure it for global women. The purpose of this study is to analyze Taiwanese women’s behavior intentions of Pap smear use by applying a planned behavior model.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed, with 503 women recruited from a township health office located in the southwest of Taiwan. Based on Ajzen’s model of the planned behavior theory, a questionnaire titled “the intention of Pap smear screening” was developed and tested. A theory-based model proposing that demographic characteristics, cancer screening attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control, and intentions of Pap smear screening was tested. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the model.

Results: The attitude did have impact on the behavioral intention. The path from the subjective norm was significant (γ=0.33, t=5.66), indicating that the subjective norm did have positive direct effect on the behavioral intention. The path from the perceived behavior control was significant (γ=0.16, t=3.60), indicating that the perceived behavior control did have positive influence on the behavioral intention. 15% of the variance in the target behavior was explained by the behavioral intention. The path from the behavioral intention was significant (β=0.39, t=8.90), indicating that the behavioral intention did have positive influence on the target behavioral. The standardized coefficient showed that the subjective norm had largest effect on the behavioral intention comparing to the variables of attitude and perceived behavioral control in this study.

Conclusion: The attitude, subjective norm, and behavioral intention did have impact on the behavioral intention to receive the test. Nursing education could include adequate intervention to encourage women’s attitude in receiving Pap smear screening.

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