若年者の子宮頸がん検診に関する知識と思い

Young People's Knowledge and Feelings about Cervical Cancer Screening

要旨

　本研究の目的は，若年者の子宮頸がん検診に関する知識と思いについて明らかにし，受診につながらない要因を検討することである．20歳代前半の女子大学生352名を対象とし，自記式質問紙調査を実施した．質問紙は対象者の属性，子宮頸がん検診に関する知識15項目と思い24項目で構成した．回収は176部（回収率50.0％）で，そのうち記入漏れを除いた168部（有効回答率47.7％）を分析対象とした．分析は，記述統計量，χ²検定，Mann-Whitney U検定を用いた．その結果，学生の検診受診率は低く，非医療系学生の子宮頸がん検診に関する知識が低かった．子宮頸がんの重大性については理解している一方，自分とは無縁の疾患であると考えていた．また，検診の具体的内容についての知識が低く，検診に対する不利益を感じていた．しかし，感染経路や若年層の罹患増加について知っている者のほうが，検診の必要性や受診の意思をもっており，女子学生は何らかのきっかけが与えられれば，受診行動をとろうという意思をもっていた．これらのことより，検診受診につなげるためには，罹患性の認識や検診の利益性の認識を高めることが重要であり，感染経路や若年層での子宮頸がんの増加，検診の詳細などの情報提供が有効であると思われる．

Abstract

　The purpose of this study was to clarify the awareness of young people and their feelings about cervical cancer screening, and to investigate factors affecting screening behavior. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among 352 female college and university students in their early 20s. The questionnaire consisted of subject demographics, plus 15 items on knowledge of, and 24 items on feelings about cervical cancer screening. The questionnaire was answered by 176 students. After excluding incomplete questionnaires, the remaining 168 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as the χ² test and the Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that only a low proportion of students had undergone screening and the knowledge of non-medical students about cervical cancer screening was poor. Many young people understood the seriousness of cervical cancer, but thought that it was a disease irrelevant to them. In addition, they had a poor awareness about the concrete details of screening and felt that there were disadvantages with screening. However, a higher proportion of students who knew about infection routes and increased incidence in the young felt the necessity of screening and stated their intention to receive screening. Furthermore, female students expressed their intent to take action to receive screening, if given any opportunity. From these findings, the following emerged as important points to encourage young females to undergo screening: awareness of the morbidity of cervical cancer and the benefit of screening must be raised; information on infection routes should be provided; awareness of the increased incidence of cervical cancer in the young should be raised; and education should be provided about the actual screening process.