Behavioral intention to prevent cervical cancer and related factors among female high school students in Japan

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to examine female high school students' behavioral intention to prevent cervical cancer and related factors.

Methods: The participants were 2158 female high school students at 16 high schools in A prefecture in the Tohoku region in Japan. A self-administered questionnaire was carried out that was developed based on a conceptual framework comprising the Health Belief Model and Theory of Reasoned Action.

Results: The responses were obtained from 2072 students (96.0%). Of these, the answers of 2028 respondents were analyzed after excluding those participants who did not complete the behavioral intention item (effective response rate: 97.0%). A factor analysis and covariance structure analysis yielded a model with strong goodness-of-fit that explained the behavioral intentions based on an "Awareness of the importance and effectiveness of cervical cancer screening," "Obstacles to cervical cancer prevention behavior," "Subjective norms for adopting cervical cancer prevention behavior," and "The behavior of someone close that encourages cervical cancer prevention behavior."

Conclusion: The statistical analysis yielded a model with strong goodness-of-fit that explained female high school students' behavioral intentions, which were related to four factors, including "the awareness of the importance and effectiveness of cervical cancer screening."

Keywords: Health Belief Model; Theory of Reasoned Action; behavioral intentions; cervical cancer; high school students.