Effect of an Educational Intervention Based on Protection Motivation Theory on Preventing Cervical Cancer among Marginalized Women in West Iran

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention to prevent cervical cancer<br />among marginalized Iranianwomen based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) as a theoretical framework.<br />Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out on 143 women of Kermanshah City in western Iran during<br />2017. Participants were recruited through cluster and simple random sampling and randomly divided into experimental<br />(n=72) and control groups (n=71). All completed a self-administered questionnaire including PMT constructs and<br />demographic variables. An intervention over six sessions was then applied to the experimental group. Reassessment<br />was conducted three months after the intervention, with data was analyzed with SPSS-16 using chi-square, McNemar,<br />paired T- and independent T-tests. Results: The mean scores for the constructs of PMT, and cervical cancer screening<br />behavior showed no significant differences between the two groups before the intervention (P>0.05). The educational<br />manipulation had significant effects on the experimental groups' average response for perceived vulnerability, perceived<br />severity, perceived reward, self-efficacy, response efficacy, response cost and protection motivation (all p < 0.001).<br />Also, the prevalence of regular Pap smear testing and referral to health centers were significantly increased after 3<br />months in the experimental (P=0.048), but notthe control group (P>0.05). Conclusions: The results show that applying<br />an educational intervention based on PMT might help prevent cervical cancer and improve regular Pap smear testing.