PT Journal AU Salehiniya, H Momenimovahed, S Allahqoli, L Momenimovahed, Z Alkatout, I TI Factors related to cervical cancer screening among Asian women SO European review for medical and pharmacological sciences = Revue européenne pour les sciences médicales et pharmacologiques = Rivista europea per le scienze mediche e farmacologiche PY 2021 BP 6109 EP 6122 VL 25 IS 19 PU Verduci DI 10.26355/eurrev_202110_26889 WP https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/macau_mods_00002650 LA en DE Humans; Vaginal Smears; Mass Screening; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Female; Early Detection of Cancer; Papanicolaou Test; Asians SN 2284-0729 AB Objective Cervical cancer is largely preventable. Although routine Pap smear screening has reduced cervical cancer-related mortality by 70-80% in all countries and by approximately 90% in developing countries, the gynecologist is still confronted with women in advanced stages of the disease. The eradication of cervical cancer depends on identifying the disease early and removing barriers to its timely detection. Given the significant burden of cervical cancer in Asian countries, we investigated factors related to its screening in Asia. Materials and methods A comprehensive search was carried out in databases such as Medline, Web of Science and Scopus for articles published until September 2020. The following keywords were used: vaginal smear, Pap smear, cervical cancer screening, barriers, obstacles, challenge, early detection, the name of each Asian country, and a combination of these words. Results Seventy-five articles were included in the study. The investigation revealed various factors related to cervical cancer screening in Asian women, including sociodemographic factors, awareness, attitudes and beliefs, perceived risk, psychological factors, self-efficacy, previous experiences, time, household, culture, fatalism, social support, access, cost, safety, insurance and health system-related factors. Conclusions Several barriers hinder the efficacy of a screening program. Its success requires the use of educational interventions, professional and inter-professional cooperation, allocation of sufficient resources, and policymakers focusing on the elimination of barriers. PI Roma ER