Implication of violence against women on not performing the cytopathologic test

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between intimate partner violence and not performing the cytopathologic test in the last three years. METHODS: It is a transversal study, performed in 26 health units in the city of Vitória, state Espírito Santo, from march to September 2014. The sample was constituted by 106 primary care female users, aging from 30 to 59 years-old. Data on cervical cancer screening were collected, besides the women’s sociodemographic, behavior, obstetric, and gynecological characteristics by an interview, and the World Health Organization recommended tool for identifying violence experiences was applied. The analysis was performed through the chi-square test for association, linear trend for ordinal variables, and the Poisson regression analysis with robust variance. RESULTS: Among the participating women, 14% (95%CI 12.0–17.2) had overdue Pap tests. Most women who did not perform the test had lower schooling levels, lower income, were smokers, in an unmarried union, having had their sexual debut before 15 years-old, three or more pregnancies, and two or more partners in the last 12 months. Women who suffered intimate partner sexual and physical violence were, respectively, 1.64 (95%CI -1.03–2.62) and 1.94 (95%CI 1.28–2.93) times more delayed in the Pap tests than non-victims. CONCLUSIONS: Violence is a significant exacerbating factor and affects women’s health negatively. Women who are physically or sexually victimized by their partners are more vulnerable to not performing Pap tests and, consequently, have fewer chances of early diagnosing cervical cancer.