Experience of Cervical Cancer Screening among Menopausal Women

Park, So Mi; Kim, Hyun Kyung

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of Pap smear screening of menopausal women in W city using a phenomenological methodology. The participants were 5 focus groups consisting of 37 menopausal women. They were selected using snowball sampling method. The data were collected through focus group interviews. Data were recorded and analyzed by Colazzi's method. Significant statements were extracted from the data resulting in 20 themes. These themes formed 12 clusters and 5 categories. The essential themes of the experience of cervical cancer screening emerged as: "unpleasant feelings during procedure", "ambivalent feelings about results", "be guided to seek health", "shrink from interaction with health professionals", "at ease about cervical cancer". The results indicated that cervical cancer prevention strategies for menopausal women need to be based on deep understanding of the personal experiences of Pap smear screening. In conclusion, it is suggested that more specified strategies are needed for menopausal women to encourage them to have regular screening.